17-letter words containing a, d, e, m
- job advertisement — an announcement in a newspaper, on television, or on a poster about a post of employment
- judgment of paris — the decision by Paris to award Aphrodite the golden apple of discord competed for by Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera.
- kawasaki syndrome — a syndrome, usually afflicting children, characterized by high fever, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, rashes, irritated eyes and mucous membranes, etc. with possible damage to the cardiovascular system
- keyboard commando — (messaging) A bulletin board user who posts authoritatively on military or combat topics, but who has never served in uniform or heard a shot fired in anger. A poseur.
- ladder tournament — a tournament in which the entrants are listed by name and rank, advancement being by means of challenging and defeating an entrant ranked one or two places higher.
- lagrange's method — a procedure for finding maximum and minimum values of a function of several variables when the variables are restricted by additional conditions.
- lambda expression — (mathematics) A term in the lambda-calculus denoting an unnamed function (a "lambda abstraction"), a variable or a constant. The pure lambda-calculus has only functions and no constants.
- lambdoidal suture — the lambda-shaped seam or line of joining between the occipital and two parietal bones at the back part of the skull.
- lame-duck session — (formerly) the December to March session of those members of the U.S. Congress who were defeated for reelection the previous November.
- landlocked salmon — a variety of the Atlantic Ocean salmon, Salmo salar, confined to the freshwater lakes of New England and adjacent areas of Canada.
- large-leaved lime — an ornamental European tree with small pale yellow flowers and which grown on lime-rich soils
- le morte d'arthur — a compilation and translation of French Arthurian romances by Sir Thomas Malory, printed by Caxton in 1485.
- liberal democracy — a democracy based on the recognition of individual rights and freedoms, in which decisions from direct or representative processes prevail in many policy areas
- liberal democrats — (in Britain) a political party with centrist policies; established in 1988 as the Social and Liberal Democrats when the Liberal Party merged with the Social Democratic Party; renamed Liberal Democrats in 1989
- limited liability — a liability restricted by law or contract, as the liability of owners of shares in a corporation or limited company, or that of a special partner.
- liquid petrolatum — mineral oil.
- load displacement — the weight, in long tons, of a cargo vessel loaded so that the summer load line touches the surface of the water.
- lymphadenopathies — Plural form of lymphadenopathy.
- macdonnell ranges — a mountain system of central Australia, in S central Northern Territory, extending about 160 km (100 miles) east and west of Alice Springs. Highest peak: Mount Zeil, 1531 m (5024 ft)
- machado y morales — Gerardo [he-rahr-th aw] /hɛˈrɑr ðɔ/ (Show IPA), 1871–1939, president of Cuba 1925–33.
- madiba generation — the generation born around 1994, when Nelson Mandela became the first president of a multiracial South Africa
- magellanic clouds — either of two irregular galactic clusters in the southern heavens that are the nearest independent star system to the Milky Way.
- magnetic meridian — a line on the earth's surface, passing in the direction of the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field.
- maintained school — a school financially supported by the state
- maintenance order — a court order stating that a divorced or legally separated man or woman must pay his or her former partner a regular sum in order to cover the costs of living
- maison de moliere — Comédie Française.
- majority decision — a decision supported by more than half the people involved
- make a difference — have a significant impact
- make inroads into — to start to use up the supply of something
- make the dust fly — earth or other matter in fine, dry particles.
- man's best friend — a dog, especially as a pet.
- managing director — manager who oversees a project
- manganese dioxide — a blackish, crystalline or powdery substance, MnO2, that is a strong oxidizing agent, used in making batteries, matches, etc.
- manufactured home — a prefabricated house, assembled in modular sections.
- many-valued logic — the study of logical systems in which the truth-values that a proposition may have are not restricted to two, representing only truth and falsity
- marais des cygnes — a river in E central Kansas and W Missouri, flowing SE to the Osage River. 150 miles (241 km) long.
- mare fecunditatis — (Sea of Fertility) a dark plain in the fourth quadrant and extending into the first quadrant of the face of the moon: about 160,000 sq. mi. (415,000 sq. km).
- marquesas islands — a group of volcanic islands in the S Pacific, in French Polynesia. Pop: 8712 (2002). Area: 1287 sq km (497 sq miles)
- marriage guidance — counselling for married couples
- martha's vineyard — an island off SE Massachusetts: summer resort. About 100 sq. mi. (259 sq. km).
- mascarene islands — a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, E of Madagascar, including Mauritius, Reunion, and Rodrigues.
- mass merchandiser — a retailer or retail store that seeks to sell large quantities of goods quickly through such means as discounting, customer self-service, or unadorned display and packaging, as in a warehouse.
- mean piston speed — The mean piston speed is the distance traveled by a piston in a specified amount of time.
- mean-spiritedness — the quality of being mean-spirited
- meat and potatoes — If you refer to the meat and potatoes of something, you mean its most basic, simple, and essential parts.
- meat-and-potatoes — fundamental; down-to-earth; basic: What are the meat-and-potatoes issues of the election?
- mechanical digger — a machine used for excavation
- media access unit — (networking) (MAU or Multistation Access Unit, MSAU) In a Token Ring network, a device to attach multiple network stations in a star topology, internally wired to connect the stations into a logical ring. The MAU contains relays to short out nonoperating stations. Multiple MAUs can be connected into a larger ring through their Ring In/Ring Out connectors.
- medical insurance — a type of insurance intended to cover possible future medical expenses
- medical librarian — a person who works in a library of medical information kept for reference in a teaching hospital