17-letter words containing a, c, u, t
- articulated lorry — a lorry made in two separate sections, a tractor and a trailer, connected by a pivoted bar
- articulatory loop — a short-term memory system that enables a person to remember short strings of words by rehearsing them repeatedly in his head
- asset-backed fund — a fund in which the money is invested in property, shares, etc, rather than being deposited with a bank or building society
- astronomical unit — a unit of distance used in astronomy equal to the mean distance between the earth and the sun. 1 astronomical unit is equivalent to 1.495 × 1011 metres or about 9.3 × 107 miles
- at close quarters — If you do something at close quarters, you do it very near to a particular person or thing.
- at cross purposes — an opposing or contrary purpose.
- at cross-purposes — If people are at cross-purposes, they do not understand each other because they are working towards or talking about different things without realizing it.
- audio description — a facility provided for visually impaired people in which a film, television programme, or play is described through audio technology
- aurea mediocritas — the golden mean.
- australia current — a branch of the South Equatorial Current flowing SW from around Fiji to the E coast of Australia and then S along the coast.
- australopithecine — any of various extinct apelike primates of the genus Australopithecus and related genera, remains of which have been discovered in southern and E Africa. Some species are estimated to be over 4.5 million years old
- authority control — the establishment and maintainance of consistent forms of terms, as of names, subjects, and titles, to be used as headings in bibliographic records.
- autocatalytically — In an autocatalytic manner.
- autocorrelational — Of or pertaining to autocorrelation.
- automatic vending — selling goods by vending machines
- automatic writing — writing performed without apparent intent or conscious control, especially to achieve spontaneity or uncensored expression.
- bachelor's button — any of several plants of a genus (Centaurea) of the composite family, that have scaly, vase-shaped bracts below the white, pink, or blue flowers; esp., the cornflower and knapweed
- bachelor's-button — any of various plants with round flower heads, especially the cornflower.
- background report — a report on someone or something that sheds light on their background, esp a report on the background of a person convicted of a crime before they are sentenced by a judge
- balance of nature — the stable state in which natural communities of animals and plants exist, maintained by adaptation, competition, and other interactions between members of the communit ies and their nonliving environment
- bankruptcy estate — all of the interests that a debtor has at the start of a bankruptcy case
- barkhausen effect — the phenomenon of short, sudden changes in the magnetism of a ferromagnetic substance occurring when the intensity of the magnetizing field is continuously altered.
- battle-ax culture — a late Neolithic to Copper Age culture of northern Europe marked especially by the production of pottery bearing the imprint of cord and by the use of battle-axes as burial accouterments.
- beat to the punch — to be quicker than (another) in doing something, as in striking a blow
- beauty specialist — a person who helps someone to improve their beauty, such as a make-up artist
- bermuda buttercup — a bulbous plant, Oxalis pescaprae, native to southern Africa, having nodding, yellow flowers.
- biopharmaceutical — of or relating to drugs produced using biotechnology
- blackcurrant bush — a bush of the blackcurrant plant
- blackout curtains — thick, lined curtains designed to shut out all daylight and keep a room in complete darkness
- blue dog democrat — a fiscally conservative member of the Democratic Party
- bluegrass country — region in central Ky. where there is much bluegrass
- bouncebackability — the ability to recover after a setback, esp in sport
- british columbian — of or relating to British Columbia or its inhabitants
- brokerage account — A brokerage account is an account with a broker where an investor can buy and sell and hold securities.
- budgetary control — a system of managing a business by applying a financial value to each forecast activity. Actual performance is subsequently compared with the estimates
- budgetary deficit — the amount by which government expenditure exceeds income from taxation, customs duties, etc, in any one fiscal year
- buncher resonator — See under Klystron.
- bureau of customs — former name of the United States Customs Service.
- bureaucratization — to divide an administrative agency or office into bureaus.
- butacaine sulfate — a colorless, crystalline substance, (C18H30N2O2)2·H2SO4, used as a local anesthetic, esp. on mucous membranes
- cabbage butterfly — a common white butterfly (Pieris rapae) whose green larvae feed upon cabbage and related plants
- café-au-lait spot — a brown patch on the skin that can occur normally in small numbers or in neurofibromatosis, when they are more numerous
- calcium carbonate — a white crystalline salt occurring in limestone, chalk, marble, calcite, coral, and pearl: used in the production of lime and cement. Formula: CaCO3
- calcium gluconate — a white, tasteless, water-soluble powder, CaC 12 H 22 O 14 , used as a dietary supplement to provide calcium.
- calcium phosphate — the insoluble nonacid calcium salt of orthophosphoric acid (phosphoric(V) acid): it occurs in bones and is the main constituent of bone ash. Formula: Ca3(PO4)2
- california nutmeg — a tall, pungently aromatic California evergreen tree, Torreya californica, of the yew family, having a fissured, gray-brown bark and small, purple-streaked, green fruit.
- camberwell beauty — a nymphalid butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa, of temperate regions, having dark purple wings with cream-yellow borders
- campus university — a university in which the buildings, often including shops and cafés, are all on one site
- cannot choose but — to be obliged to
- capacity audience — a situation when the maximum number of people possible are watching an event