17-letter words containing c, i, n
- african army worm — the caterpillar of a widely distributed noctuid moth, Spodoptera exempta, which travels in vast hordes and is a serious pest of cereal crops and grasses in Africa and parts of Australia
- african-caribbean — African-Caribbean refers to people from the Caribbean whose ancestors came from Africa.
- against the clock — If you are doing something against the clock, you are doing it in a great hurry, because there is very little time.
- age of discretion — the age at which a person is considered to be able to manage his or her own affairs
- alaskan king crab — king crab (def 2).
- alcohol poisoning — the ingestion of a lethal or potentially lethal amount of alcohol
- alive and kicking — If you say that someone or something is alive and kicking, you are emphasizing not only that they continue to survive, but also that they are very active.
- allergic rhinitis — a condition characterized by head congestion, sneezing, tearing, and swelling of the nasal mucous membranes, caused by an allergic reaction.
- alternative music — independent pop music
- altitude sickness — a condition affecting some persons at high altitudes, caused by insufficient oxygen in the blood and characterized by dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath.
- aluminum chloride — a yellow-white, crystalline, water-soluble solid that in its white hydrated form, AlCl 3 ⋅6H 2 O, is used chiefly as a wood preservative and in its yellow-white anhydrous form, AlCl 3 , chiefly as a catalyst.
- aluminum silicate — any of a group of naturally occurring, water-insoluble substances, obtained from clay or synthesized, containing varying amounts of oxides of aluminum and silicon, Al 2 O 3 and Si 2 O 3 , and used in the manufacture of glass, ceramics, paints, printing inks, rubber, and plastics.
- 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 dog tick — a common tick, Dermacentor variabilis, that is the vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the eastern U.S. and also carries tularemia.
- american flagfish — flagfish (def 1).
- american football — American football is a game similar to rugby that is played by two teams of eleven players using an oval-shaped ball. Players try to score points by carrying the ball to their opponents' end of the field, or by kicking it over a bar fixed between two posts.
- american foxhound — one of an American breed of medium-sized dogs having a smooth, glossy coat usually black, tan, and white in color, a square-cut muzzle, hanging ears, and a moderately high-set tail, used for hunting both in packs or individually, tailing the game by scent.
- american highland — a region in Antarctica, W of Enderby Land and E of Wilkes Land: discovered 1939.
- american hornbeam — any North American shrub or tree belonging to the genus Carpinus, of the birch family, yielding a hard, heavy wood, as C. caroliniana (American hornbeam)
- american mulberry — See under mulberry (def 2).
- american redstart — any of several small, Old World thrushes, usually with reddish-brown tails, especially Phoenicurus phoenicurus (European redstart)
- american wirehair — a breed of medium-large cat with a coarse wiry coat
- american woodbine — a North American plant, related to the honeysuckle, Lonicera caprifolium
- american wormseed — a plant with seeds used in medicine to treat worm infestation, Chenopodium ambrosioides
- american-flagfish — flagfish (def 1).
- amino-acid dating — a method used to date an organic geological or archaeological specimen, as a fossil or mummified body, by determining how much change has occurred in the amino-acid structure of that specimen.
- aminobenzoic acid — a derivative of benzoic acid existing in three isomeric forms, the para- form being used in the manufacture of dyes and sunburn preventatives. Formula: NH2C6H4COOH
- ammonium chloride — a white soluble crystalline solid used chiefly as an electrolyte in dry batteries and as a mordant and soldering flux. Formula: NH4Cl
- amoebic dysentery — inflammation of the intestines caused by the parasitic amoeba Endamoeba histolytica
- amor vincit omnia — love conquers everything
- amphidromic point — a point of almost zero tidal fluctuation on the ocean surface, represented on a chart of cotidal lines by a point from which these lines radiate.
- anabolic steroids — a synthetic derivative of testosterone, sometimes used by athletes to help increase weight and strength.
- anachronistically — In an anachronistic manner; in the manner of an anachronism.
- analytic geometry — the branch of geometry in which a coordinate graphing system makes visible, using points, lines, and curves, the numerical relationships of algebraic equations
- analytical cubism — the early phase of cubism, chiefly characterized by a pronounced use of geometric shapes and by a tendency toward a monochromatic use of color.
- analytical engine — (history) A design for a general-purpose digital computer proposed by Charles Babbage in 1837 as a successor to his earlier special-purpose Difference Engine. The Analytical Engine was to be built from brass gears powered by steam with input given on punched cards. Babbage could never secure enough funding to build it, and so it was, and never has been, constructed.
- ancienne noblesse — the ancient nobility, especially of the ancien régime.
- angiocardiography — the making of X-ray pictures of the heart and its blood vessels after injecting a radiopaque substance
- angle of friction — the angle of a plane to the horizontal when a body placed on the plane will just start to slide. The tangent of the angle of friction is the coefficient of static friction
- anglo-catholicism — the tradition or form of worship in the Anglican Church that emphasizes Catholicity, the apostolic succession, and the continuity of all churches within the communion with pre-Reformation Christianity as well as the importance of liturgy and ritual.
- anionic detergent — any of a class of synthetic compounds whose anions are alkali salts, as soap, or whose ions are ammonium salts.
- annunciation lily — Madonna lily.
- anomalistic month — the interval between two successive passages of the moon through perigee; 27.55455 days
- answering machine — An answering machine is the same as an answerphone.
- answering service — a business that answers telephone calls on behalf of another business or organization, taking messages from and providing information to callers
- anthracosilicosis — a form of pneumoconiosis occurring in miners, caused by the inhalation of coal and siliceous particles.
- anthropogenically — In an anthropogenic way.
- anthropologically — the science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of humankind.