17-letter words containing a, e, r
- adjunct professor — a professor employed by a college or university for a specific purpose or length of time and often part-time.
- advance directive — a living will or durable power of attorney in which a person states his or her wishes regarding medical treatment in the event of mental incompetency or an inability to communicate.
- adventure holiday — a holiday that involves some physically challenging activity such as canoeing, rock climbing, etc
- adventure tourism — tourism involving activities that are physically challenging
- adventuresomeness — The state or quality of being adventuresome.
- adverse selection — Adverse selection is a term used to describe the tendency of those in dangerous jobs or with high-risk lifestyles to want to take out life insurance.
- aerial photograph — a photograph taken from the air
- aerobic digestion — Aerobic digestion is a process which uses bacteria and oxygen to break down organic and biological waste.
- aerobic-exercises — Also called aerobic exercises. (used with a plural verb) any of various sustained exercises, as jogging, rowing, swimming, or cycling, that stimulate and strengthen the heart and lungs, thereby improving the body's utilization of oxygen.
- aerothermodynamic — Of or pertaining to aerothermodynamics.
- affaire d'honneur — a duel
- affiliation order — (formerly) an order made by a magistrates' court that a man adjudged to be the father of an illegitimate child shall contribute a specified periodic sum towards the child's maintenance
- affiliative drive — the urge to form friendships and attachments, typically prompting a person to attend social gatherings and join organizations as a way of preventing loneliness and gaining emotional security.
- african-caribbean — African-Caribbean refers to people from the Caribbean whose ancestors came from Africa.
- afternoon session — a part of an event taking place in the afternoon
- aftershave lotion — a lotion, usually styptic and perfumed, for application to the face after shaving
- against the grain — contrary to one's feelings, nature, wishes, etc.; irritating or displeasing
- age before beauty — (often said humorously when yielding precedence) older people take precedence over younger people
- age of discretion — the age at which a person is considered to be able to manage his or her own affairs
- agent provocateur — An agent provocateur is a person who is employed by the government or the police to encourage certain groups of people to break the law, so they can arrest them or make them lose public support.
- aggravated murder — a murder made more serious by its violent circumstances
- agree to disagree — If two people who are arguing about something agree to disagree or agree to differ, they decide to stop arguing because neither of them is going to change their opinion.
- agreement to sell — a contract between two parties in which one party agrees to sell something to the other
- air chief marshal — a senior officer of the Royal Air Force and certain other air forces, of equivalent rank to admiral in the Royal Navy
- air-transportable — that can be transported by aircraft: air-transportable equipment.
- aircraft observer — U.S. Army. observer (def 4).
- aircraft-observer — someone or something that observes.
- alcala de henares — city in central Spain, near Madrid: pop. 159,000
- alexander severus — a.d. 208?-235; Rom. emperor ( a.d. 222-235)
- alexandrian senna — a tropical leguminous plant, Cassia acutifolia, having yellow flowers and long pods
- alfalfa butterfly — a sulfur butterfly, Colias eurytheme, having orange wings edged with black, the larvae of which feed on alfalfa and other legumes.
- algorithmic model — (programming) A method of estimating software cost using mathematical algorithms based on the parameters which are considered to be the major cost drivers. These estimate of effort or cost are based primarily on the size of the software or Delivered Source Instructions (DSI)s, and other productivity factors known as Cost Driver Attributes. See also Parametric Model.
- all over the occy — in every direction
- all over the shop — If something is happening all over the shop, it is happening in many different places or throughout a wide area.
- all the better to — more suitable to
- all the trimmings — If you say that something comes with all the trimmings, you mean that it has many extra things added to it to make it more special.
- all-purpose flour — All-purpose flour is flour that does not make cakes and cookies rise when they are baked because it has no chemicals added to it.
- all-weather court — a tennis court suitable to be used in all kinds of weather
- allende meteorite — a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite that fell over northern Mexico in 1969: one of the largest recorded falls of a stony meteorite.
- allergic rhinitis — a condition characterized by head congestion, sneezing, tearing, and swelling of the nasal mucous membranes, caused by an allergic reaction.
- alligator snapper — a large, freshwater snapping turtle (Macroclemys temmincki) of the SE U.S. and the Mississippi Valley, found chiefly in rivers and bayous: it may weigh up to 100 kg (220 lb)
- almost everywhere — everywhere in a given set except on a subset with measure zero. Abbreviation: a.e.
- alpha-fetoprotein — a protein that forms in the liver of the human fetus. Excessive quantities in the amniotic fluid and maternal blood may indicate spina bifida in the fetus; low levels may point to Down's syndrome
- altamonte springs — a city in central Florida.
- alternate plumage — (of birds having more than one plumage in their cycle of molts) the plumage of the second molt, usually brighter than the basic plumage.
- alternating group — the subgroup consisting of all even permutations, of the group of all permutations of a finite set.
- alternating light — a beacon showing different colors in succession.
- alternative music — independent pop music
- altitude training — training performed at high altitude to prepare an athlete's body to cope with a reduced supply of oxygen
- aluminum chloride — a yellow-white, crystalline, water-soluble solid that in its white hydrated form, AlCl 3 ⋅6H 2 O, is used chiefly as a wood preservative and in its yellow-white anhydrous form, AlCl 3 , chiefly as a catalyst.