17-letter words containing a, r, e, s
- alternative music — independent pop music
- amateur dramatics — theatrical performances by amateur players
- ambrette-seed oil — a yellow oil expressed from ambrette seeds, used as a fixative in the manufacture of perfume.
- ambulance service — the public organization that operates ambulances in a country
- american chestnut — any of the several deciduous trees constituting the genus Castanea, of the beech family, having toothed, oblong leaves and bearing edible nuts enclosed in a prickly bur, and including C. dentata (American chestnut) which has been virtually destroyed by the chestnut blight, C. sativa (European chestnut) C. mollissima (Chinese chestnut) and C. crenata (Japanese chestnut)
- american dialects — regional or social varieties of spoken American English identified by differences in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation: principal dialect areas are now generally distinguished as Northern, Midland, and Southern
- american flagfish — flagfish (def 1).
- american redstart — any of several small, Old World thrushes, usually with reddish-brown tails, especially Phoenicurus phoenicurus (European redstart)
- american wormseed — a plant with seeds used in medicine to treat worm infestation, Chenopodium ambrosioides
- american-flagfish — flagfish (def 1).
- ammonium stearate — a tan, waxlike, water-insoluble solid, C 18 H 39 NO 2 , used chiefly in the manufacture of cosmetics.
- amoebic dysentery — inflammation of the intestines caused by the parasitic amoeba Endamoeba histolytica
- anabolic steroids — a synthetic derivative of testosterone, sometimes used by athletes to help increase weight and strength.
- anchor escapement — an escapement in which wedge-shaped pallets engage with an escape wheel having pointed teeth, usually facing in the direction of revolution, so that the escape wheel recoils slightly at every release.
- andreanof islands — a group of islands in the central Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Area: 3710 sq km (1432 sq miles)
- angostura bitters — a bitter aromatic tonic made from gentian and various spices and vegetable colourings, used as a flavouring in alcoholic drinks
- angra do heroismo — a port in the Azores, on Terceira Island. Pop: 35 581 (2001)
- angular leaf spot — a disease of plants, characterized by angular, watery spots on the leaves and fruit, caused by any of several bacteria, as Pseudomonas lachrymans.
- answering machine — An answering machine is the same as an answerphone.
- answering pennant — one of the flags of the International Code of Signals, a pennant of three red and two white vertical stripes, flown at the dip while a message is being interpreted and close up when it is understood.
- answering service — a business that answers telephone calls on behalf of another business or organization, taking messages from and providing information to callers
- anthropomorphises — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of anthropomorphise.
- anthroposemiotics — The study of human communication.
- anti-conservatism — the disposition to preserve or restore what is established and traditional and to limit change.
- anti-conservative — disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
- antihypertensives — Plural form of antihypertensive.
- antimaterialistic — Opposing materialism.
- anzhero-sudzhensk — a city in the S Russian Federation in Central Asia.
- api gravity scale — the American Petroleum Institute gravity scale: a universally accepted scale of the relative density of fluids that is used in fuel technology and is measured in degrees API. One degree API is equal to (141.5/d)–131.5, where d = relative density at 288.7K
- apostolic fathers — the Fathers of the early Church who immediately followed the Apostles
- april fool's joke — (humour, event) (AFJ) Elaborate April Fool's hoaxes are a long-established tradition on Usenet and Internet; see kremvax for an example. In fact, April Fool's Day is the *only* seasonal holiday marked by customary observances on the hacker networks.
- archconservatives — Plural form of archconservative.
- archimedes' screw — an ancient type of water-lifting device making use of a spiral passage in an inclined cylinder. The water is raised when the spiral is rotated
- architect's table — a table having a surface consisting of a drawing board adjustable to various heights and angles.
- argumentativeness — fond of or given to argument and dispute; disputatious; contentious: The law students were an unusually argumentative group.
- aristolochiaceous — belonging to the Aristolochiaceae, the birthwort family of plants.
- arithmetic-series — a sequence in which each term is obtained by the addition of a constant number to the preceding term, as 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, and 6, 1, −4, −9, −14.
- arlington heights — village in NE Ill.: suburb of Chicago: pop. 76,000
- armaments factory — a factory for producing armaments
- arresting officer — the police officer making an arrest
- arsenic disulfide — an orange-red, water-insoluble, poisonous powder, As 4 S 4 , As 2 S 2 , or AsS, used chiefly in the manufacture of fireworks.
- arsenic poisoning — poisoning by arsenic
- artificial person — a human being, whether an adult or child: The table seats four persons.
- artistic director — a person in charge of the artistic direction of a theatre company
- arunachal pradesh — a state in NE India, formed in 1986 from the former Union Territory. Capital: Itanagar. Pop: 1 091 117 (2001). Area: 83 743 sq km (32 648 sq miles)
- as far as it goes — If you say that something is good as far as it goes or true so far as it goes, you mean that it is good or true only to a limited extent.
- as the crow flies — If you say that a place is a particular distance away as the crow flies, you mean that it is that distance away measured in a straight line.
- ascend the throne — to become king or queen
- ascertained goods — specific goods
- ashton-under-lyne — a town in NW England, in Tameside unitary authority, Greater Manchester. Pop: 43 236 (2001)