17-letter words containing a, n, t, h
- anti-humanitarian — having concern for or helping to improve the welfare and happiness of people.
- anti-metaphysical — pertaining to or of the nature of metaphysics.
- antiauthoritarian — Opposed to authority.
- antiestablishment — opposed to or working against the existing power structure or mores, as of society or government: Antiestablishment candidates promised to disband the army, Congress, and the cabinet if elected.
- antihyperglycemic — (of a medication or treatment) Tending to reduce hyperglycemia (high blood sugar, characteristic of diabetes).
- antihypertensives — Plural form of antihypertensive.
- antitwilight arch — a narrow band, pink or with a purple cast, that sometimes appears at twilight just above the horizon opposite the sun.
- 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.
- appalachian trail — hiking trail extending from central Me. to N Ga., along the Appalachian Mountains: c. 2,050 mi (3,299 km)
- archconfraternity — a confraternity having the right to associate itself with confraternities that are similar to it, and to impart to them its privileges and indulgences.
- archconservatives — Plural form of archconservative.
- architectonically — In terms of architectonics.
- arlington heights — village in NE Ill.: suburb of Chicago: pop. 76,000
- around the corner — If you say that something is around the corner, you mean that it will happen very soon. In British English, you can also say that something is round the corner.
- ascend the throne — to become king or queen
- ashton-under-lyne — a town in NW England, in Tameside unitary authority, Greater Manchester. Pop: 43 236 (2001)
- assessment method — a way of assessing something or someone
- assistant teacher — a person who assists a teacher in their work or who is not yet fully qualified as a teacher
- at someone's hand — from
- at the expense of — If you achieve something at the expense of someone, you do it in a way which might cause them some harm or disadvantage.
- 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.
- attachment theory — a set of concepts that explain the emergence of an emotional bond between an infant and primary caregiver and the way in which this bond affects the child’s behavioral and emotional development into adulthood. See also attachment (def 3a).
- attraction sphere — centrosphere (sense 1)
- australopithecine — any of various extinct apelike primates of the genus Australopithecus and related genera, remains of which have been discovered in southern and E Africa. Some species are estimated to be over 4.5 million years old
- authoritativeness — having due authority; having the sanction or weight of authority: an authoritative opinion.
- authority control — the establishment and maintainance of consistent forms of terms, as of names, subjects, and titles, to be used as headings in bibliographic records.
- babe in the woods — a baby or child.
- baby doll nightie — a short, frilly nightdress
- bachelor's button — any of several plants of a genus (Centaurea) of the composite family, that have scaly, vase-shaped bracts below the white, pink, or blue flowers; esp., the cornflower and knapweed
- bachelor's-button — any of various plants with round flower heads, especially the cornflower.
- back on the rails — If something is back on the rails, it is beginning to be successful again after a period when it almost failed.
- bacteriorhodopsin — a purple protein containing retinal and found in the plasma membrane of certain bacteria (genus Halobacterium): it directly supplies electrochemical energy from sunlight
- balance the books — do accounting
- bald-faced hornet — any large, stinging paper wasp of the family Vespidae, as Vespa crabro (giant hornet) introduced into the U.S. from Europe, or Vespula maculata (bald-faced hornet or white-faced hornet) of North America.
- barkhausen effect — the phenomenon of short, sudden changes in the magnetism of a ferromagnetic substance occurring when the intensity of the magnetizing field is continuously altered.
- bartholin's gland — either of two small glands near the vaginal opening: during sexual excitement they secrete a mucous lubricating substance
- basal anaesthesia — preliminary and incomplete anaesthesia induced to prepare a surgical patient for total anaesthesia with another agent
- 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
- beat to the punch — to be quicker than (another) in doing something, as in striking a blow
- bell-hanger's bit — a bit for drilling small holes through studs or the like.
- bent out of shape — very angry, upset, or agitated
- bighorn mountains — range of the Rocky Mountains in N Wyo. and S Mont.: highest peak, 13,165 ft (4,013 m)
- birth of a nation — an American film (1915), directed by D. W. Griffith.
- blackcurrant bush — a bush of the blackcurrant plant
- blood and thunder — A blood and thunder performer or performance is very loud and emotional.
- blood-and-thunder — sensationalism, violence, or exaggerated melodrama: a movie full of blood and thunder.
- blow hot and cold — to vacillate
- boat-billed heron — a nocturnal, tropical American wading bird (Cochlearius cochlearius) with a large, broad bill: it is the only member of a family (Cochleariidae) of wading birds
- boatswain's chair — a seat consisting of a short flat board slung from ropes, used to support a person working on the side of a vessel or in its rigging