17-letter words containing a, l, t, r, u
- 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.
- thiosulfuric acid — an acid, H 2 S 2 O 3 , that may be regarded as sulfuric acid with one oxygen atom replaced by sulfur.
- 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
- topological group — a set that is a group and a topological space and for which the group operation and the map of an element to its inverse are continuous functions.
- 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
- triangular matrix — a square matrix in which either all the entries above the principal diagonal, or all the entries below the principal diagonal, are zero.
- tropical aquarium — an aquarium designed for the maintenance and breeding of tropical fish and kept at a suitably warm temperature.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- unproportionately — proportioned; being in due proportion; proportional.
- upper paleolithic — See under Paleolithic.
- urban development — the development or improvement of an urban area by building
- urban exploration — a recreational activity in which people explore derelict urban structures such as abandoned sewers or underground railways or attempt to access areas which are closed to the public such as the roofs of skyscrapers
- urogenital system — the urinary tract and reproductive organs
- valetudinarianism — the state, condition, or habits of a valetudinarian.
- varix lymphaticus — a similar condition affecting an artery or lymphatic vessel
- ventura publisher — Corel VENTURA
- vernacularization — to translate into the natural speech peculiar to a people.
- vestibular system — the sensory mechanism in the inner ear that detects movement of the head and helps to control balance
- vibrofluidization — Vibrofluidization is when vibration is used to make particles move in a fluidized bed.
- victor emmanuel i — 1759–1824, king of Sardinia 1802–21.
- voltage regulator — a device that controls or maintains the voltage of an electrical circuit. Abbreviation: VR.
- vulcan death grip — (jargon) A variant of Vulcan nerve pinch derived from a Star Trek classic epsisode where a non-existant "Vulcan death grip" was used to fool Romulans that Spock had killed Kirk.
- waitangi tribunal — (in New Zealand) a government tribunal empowered to examine and make recommendations on Māori claims under the Treaty of Waitangi
- water tube boiler — a boiler for generating steam by passing water in tubes (water tubes) through flames and hot gases.
- water-tube boiler — a boiler for generating steam by passing water in tubes (water tubes) through flames and hot gases.
- wave-cut platform — a flat surface at the base of a cliff formed by erosion by waves
- wearable computer — a small computer that is worn or carried on the body; a wearable computing device: a wrist-worn wearable computer with a head-mounted display.