17-letter words containing a, r, u
- 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.
- uncircumscribable — to draw a line around; encircle: to circumscribe a city on a map.
- unclassified road — a road that has not been given a grade because it is of a basic standard
- uncomfortableness — causing discomfort or distress; painful; irritating.
- unconformity trap — An unconformity trap is a hydrocarbon trap where the closure is made by an unconformity (= a formation of rock layers which represents a gap in the geological record).
- uncooperativeness — working or acting together willingly for a common purpose or benefit.
- under the weather — the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.
- undercompensation — to compensate or pay less than is fair, customary, or expected.
- understandability — capable of being understood; comprehensible.
- undulatory theory — wave theory (def 1).
- unemployment rate — percentage of population without jobs
- uniformitarianism — supporting, conforming to, or derived from a theory or doctrine about uniformity, especially on the subject of geology.
- unify corporation — (company) Developers of the Unify relational database. At one time, before Sybase, they were a competitor of Oracle, et al.
- unipalm group plc — (company) A company floated in March 1994.
- unitary authority — (in the United Kingdom) a district administered by a single tier of local government, esp those districts of England that became administratively independent of the county councils in 1996–98
- universal algebra — (logic) The model theory of first-order equational logic.
- universal grammar — a grammar that attempts to establish the properties and constraints common to all possible human languages.
- unix brain damage — Something that has to be done to break a network program (typically a mailer) on a non-Unix system so that it will interoperate with Unix systems. The hack may qualify as "Unix brain damage" if the program conforms to published standards and the Unix program in question does not. Unix brain damage happens because it is much easier for other (minority) systems to change their ways to match non-conforming behaviour than it is to change all the hundreds of thousands of Unix systems out there. An example of Unix brain damage is a kluge in a mail server to recognise bare line feed (the Unix newline) as an equivalent form to the Internet standard newline, which is a carriage return followed by a line feed. Such things can make even a hardened jock weep.
- 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.
- unprofessionalism — not professional; not pertaining to or characteristic of a profession.
- unproportionately — proportioned; being in due proportion; proportional.
- unrealized losses — Unrealized losses are losses from the decrease in value of an asset that you still own.
- up/raise the ante — If you up the ante or raise the ante, you increase your demands when you are in dispute or fighting for something.
- 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
- used-car salesman — a person who sells used cars
- user brain damage — (humour) (UBD) A description (usually abbreviated) used to close a trouble report obviously due to utter cluelessness on the user's part. Compare pilot error; opposite: PBD; see also brain-damaged, PEBCAK.
- vacuum aspiration — menstrual extraction.
- vacuum extraction — applying suction to a baby's head during birth to help it emerge
- valetudinarianism — the state, condition, or habits of a valetudinarian.
- valsalva maneuver — a forced expiratory effort against a closed glottis that decreases intrathoracic pressure, hampering venous return to the heart, and that can be used to inflate the Eustachian tubes and adjust pressure in the middle ear.
- vanilla-flavoured — having been flavoured with vanilla extract or essence
- varix lymphaticus — a similar condition affecting an artery or lymphatic vessel
- vascular cylinder — stele (sense 3)
- vehicle insurance — Vehicle insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles.
- 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.
- victoriano huerta — Victoriano [beek-taw-ryah-naw] /ˌbik tɔˈryɑ nɔ/ (Show IPA), 1854–1916, Mexican general: provisional president of Mexico 1913–14.
- vinaigrette sauce — a tart sauce of oil, vinegar, and seasonings, sometimes including chopped capers, pickles, etc., usually served cold with salads.
- visually impaired — (of a person) having reduced vision so severe as to constitute a handicap.
- voltage regulator — a device that controls or maintains the voltage of an electrical circuit. Abbreviation: VR.