17-letter words containing a, g, r, n
- anthropophaginian — (nonce, humorous) One who eats human flesh.
- anti-aircraft gun — a gun intended to destroy enemy aircraft
- anti-carcinogenic — any substance or agent that tends to produce a cancer.
- anti-profiteering — a person who seeks or exacts exorbitant profits, especially through the sale of scarce or rationed goods.
- antiferromagnetic — noting or pertaining to a substance in which, at sufficiently low temperatures, the magnetic moments of adjacent atoms point in opposite directions.
- antihyperglycemic — (of a medication or treatment) Tending to reduce hyperglycemia (high blood sugar, characteristic of diabetes).
- antiprostaglandin — A prostaglandin inhibitor.
- antitwilight arch — a narrow band, pink or with a purple cast, that sometimes appears at twilight just above the horizon opposite the sun.
- antivirus program — antivirus software
- anytime algorithm — (algorithm) An algorithm that returns a sequence of approximations to the correct answer such that each approximation is no worse than the previous one, i.e. the algorithm can be stopped at _any time_. x = (x + b / x) / 2 Each new x is closer to the square root than the previous one. Applications might include a real-time control system or a chess program that is allowed a fixed thinking time.
- argumentativeness — fond of or given to argument and dispute; disputatious; contentious: The law students were an unusually argumentative group.
- arlington heights — village in NE Ill.: suburb of Chicago: pop. 76,000
- armchair shopping — buying goods using a computer, telephone, or television in the home or via the postal system
- arranged marriage — In an arranged marriage, the parents choose the person who their son or daughter will marry.
- arresting officer — the police officer making an arrest
- arsenic poisoning — poisoning by arsenic
- ascertained goods — specific goods
- asperger syndrome — a developmental disorder characterized by severely impaired social skills, repetitive behaviors, and often, a narrow set of interests, but not involving delayed development of linguistic and cognitive abilities: now considered one of the autism spectrum disorders.
- assistant manager — a person who assists a manager in their work
- at their own game — If you beat someone at their own game, you use the same methods that they have used, but more successfully, so that you gain an advantage over them.
- attainment target — a general defined level of ability that a pupil is expected to achieve in every subject at each key stage in the National Curriculum
- augmented reality — an artificial environment created through the combination of real-world and computer-generated data
- australia antigen — an antigen present in the blood of some persons with one form of hepatitis
- automatic writing — writing performed without apparent intent or conscious control, especially to achieve spontaneity or uncensored expression.
- average deviation — a measure of dispersion, computed by taking the arithmetic mean of the absolute values of the deviations of the functional values from some central value, usually the mean or median.
- avogadro constant — the number of atoms or molecules in a mole of a substance
- avogadro's number — the constant, 6.022 × 10 23 , representing the number of atoms, molecules, or ions in one mole of a substance. Symbol: N. Compare gram-atom, gram molecule.
- 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
- backward chaining — (algorithm) An algorithm for proving a goal by recursively breaking it down into sub-goals and trying to prove these until facts are reached. Facts are goals with no sub-goals which are therefore always true. Backward training is the program execution mechanism used by most logic programming language like Prolog. Opposite: forward chaining.
- baden-wurttemberg — a state of SW Germany. Capital: Stuttgart. Pop: 53 938 (2003 est). Area: 35 742 sq km (13 800 sq miles)
- baggage screening — the procedure whereby baggage is electronically screened at an airport before it is allowed on the plane
- bangalore torpedo — an explosive device in a long metal tube, used to blow gaps in barbed-wire barriers
- banking principle — the principle that bank notes are a form of credit and should be issued freely in order to maintain an elastic currency.
- bartholin's gland — either of two small glands near the vaginal opening: during sexual excitement they secrete a mucous lubricating substance
- base lending rate — a minimum interest rate on which financial institutions base the rates they use for lending
- baseboard heating — a heating system by pipes, through which steam or hot water circulates, near the base of the walls of rooms
- bathroom fittings — plumbing fixtures or accessories suitable for use in a bathroom
- be running scared — If you say that a person or group is running scared, you mean that they are frightened of what someone might do to them or what might happen.
- bell-hanger's bit — a bit for drilling small holes through studs or the like.
- bighorn mountains — range of the Rocky Mountains in N Wyo. and S Mont.: highest peak, 13,165 ft (4,013 m)
- biological parent — a parent who has conceived (biological mother) or sired (biological father) rather than adopted a child and whose genes are therefore transmitted to the child.
- blackboard jungle — a school or school system characterized by lack of discipline and by juvenile delinquency.
- bluegrass country — region in central Ky. where there is much bluegrass
- board and lodging — If you are provided with board and lodging, you are provided with food and a place to sleep, especially as part of the conditions of a job.
- board of managers — a group of people responsible for managing an organization
- board-and-shingle — a small dwelling with wooden walls and a shingle roof
- bradford spinning — a wool-spinning method in which the fibers are oiled prior to combing and subsequently spun into worsted yarn.
- brain haemorrhage — bleeding into the brain
- breakdown voltage — the minimum applied voltage that would cause a given insulator or electrode to break down.
- brigadier general — In the United States, a brigadier general is a senior officer in the armed forces who is often in charge of a brigade and has a rank above colonel and below major general.