17-letter words containing a, e, l, u, r
- supercolumniation — the placing of one order of columns above another.
- surgical dressing — a dressing made of cotton, used for incisions made during surgery
- surrender to bail — to present oneself at court at the appointed time after having been on bail
- sustained-release — (of a drug or fertilizer) capable of gradual release of an active agent over a period of time, allowing for a sustained effect; timed-release; long-acting; prolonged-action; slow-release.
- tactile corpuscle — an oval sense organ made of flattened cells and encapsulated nerve endings, occurring in hairless skin, as the tips of the fingers and toes, and functioning as a touch receptor.
- tapestry brussels — a carpet made with three-ply or four-ply worsted yarn drawn up in uncut loops to form a pattern over the entire surface (body Brussels) or made of worsted or woolen yarns on which a pattern is printed (tapestry Brussels)
- technical support — an advising and troubleshooting service provided by a manufacturer, typically a software or hardware developer, to its customers, often online or on the telephone.
- temporomandibular — of, relating to, or situated near the hinge joint formed by the lower jaw and the temporal bone of the skull.
- terminal juncture — a form of juncture consisting of a change in pitch before a pause, marking the end of an utterance or a break between utterances, as between clauses. Compare close juncture, juncture (def 7), open juncture.
- territorial court — a court established in U.S. territories that is empowered to hear local and federal cases.
- tetrafluoroethene — a dense colourless gas that is polymerized to make polytetrafluorethene (PTFE). Formula: F2C:CF2
- textual criticism — lower criticism.
- the black country — the formerly heavily industrialized region of central England, northwest of Birmingham
- the evil day/hour — If someone is putting off the evil day or the evil hour, they have to do something unpleasant and are trying to avoid doing it for as long as possible.
- the final curtain — the closing of the curtain at the end of the action of a play
- the major leagues — the two main leagues of professional baseball clubs in the U.S., the National League and the American League
- the new jerusalem — the de facto capital of Israel (recognition of this has been withheld by the United Nations), situated in the Judaean hills: became capital of the Hebrew kingdom after its capture by David around 1000 bc; destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 bc; taken by the Romans in 63 bc; devastated in 70 ad and 135 ad during the Jewish rebellions against Rome; fell to the Arabs in 637 and to the Seljuk Turks in 1071; ruled by Crusaders from 1099 to 1187 and by the Egyptians and Turks until conquered by the British (1917); centre of the British mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, when the Arabs took the old city and the Jews held the new city; unified after the Six Day War (1967) under the Israelis; the holy city of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Pop: 693 200 (2003 est)
- the popular press — cheap newspapers with a mass circulation; the tabloid press
- the unwritten law — the tradition that a person may avenge any insult to family integrity, as used to justify criminal acts of vengeance
- thermal diffusion — the separation of constituents, often isotopes, of a fluid under the influence of a temperature gradient.
- thermal pollution — a rise in the temperature of rivers or lakes that is injurious to water-dwelling life and is caused by the disposal of heated industrial waste water or water from the cooling towers of nuclear power plants.
- thermal underwear — underwear designed to retain body heat in cold temperatures.
- thermocoagulation — the coagulation of tissue by heat-producing high-frequency electric currents, used therapeutically to remove small growths or to create specific lesions in the brain.
- thread-legged bug — any of certain insects of the family Reduviidae, characterized by an elongated, slender body and long frail legs, the front pair of which are raptorial.
- three-course meal — A three-course meal is a meal that consists of three parts served one after the other.
- to feel your oats — to feel exuberant or high-spirited
- tolpuddle martyrs — six farm workers sentenced to transportation for seven years in 1834 for administering an unlawful oath to form a trade union in the village of Tolpuddle, Dorset
- torricellian tube — a vertical glass tube partly evacuated and partly filled with mercury, the height of which is used as a measure of atmospheric pressure
- trailing geranium — an ivy-leaved variety of geranium, Pelargonium peltatum
- trouble came back — (jargon) (TCB) An IBM term for an intermittent or difficult-to-reproduce problem that has failed to respond to neglect or shotgun debugging. Compare heisenbug.
- trucial sheikdoms — an independent federation in E Arabia, formed in 1971, now comprising seven emirates on the S coast (formerly, Pirate Coast or Trucial Coast) of the Persian Gulf, formerly under British protection: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah (joined 1972), and Fujairah. About 32,300 sq. mi. (83,657 sq. km). Capital: Abu Dhabi. Abbreviation: U.A.E.
- tubercle bacillus — the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causing tuberculosis.
- ultimate strength — the quantity of the utmost tensile, compressive, or shearing stress that a given unit area of a certain material is expected to bear without failing.
- ultraconservative — extremely conservative, especially in politics.
- ultrametamorphism — metamorphism during which the temperature of a rock exceeds its melting point.
- ultramicrobalance — a balance for weighing precisely, to a hundredth of a microgram or less, minute quantities of material.
- uncircumscribable — to draw a line around; encircle: to circumscribe a city on a map.
- unclassified road — a road that has not been given a grade because it is of a basic standard
- uncomfortableness — causing discomfort or distress; painful; irritating.
- understandability — capable of being understood; comprehensible.
- undulatory theory — wave theory (def 1).
- unemployment rate — percentage of population without jobs
- universal algebra — (logic) The model theory of first-order equational logic.
- universal grammar — a grammar that attempts to establish the properties and constraints common to all possible human languages.
- unofficial strike — a strike that is not approved by the strikers' trade union
- unpredictableness — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- unprofessionalism — not professional; not pertaining to or characteristic of a profession.
- unproportionately — proportioned; being in due proportion; proportional.
- unrealized losses — Unrealized losses are losses from the decrease in value of an asset that you still own.
- upper paleolithic — See under Paleolithic.