17-letter words containing d, e, c
- articulated joint — Anatomy. a flexible joint.
- articulated lorry — a lorry made in two separate sections, a tractor and a trailer, connected by a pivoted bar
- artificial kidney — a mechanical apparatus for performing haemodialysis
- 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)
- ascend the throne — to become king or queen
- ascertained goods — specific goods
- ashby-de-la-zouch — a town in central England, in Leicestershire: Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned (1569) in the castle. Pop: 11 409 (2001)
- assembly district — one of a fixed number of districts into which a state is divided, each district electing one member to the lower house of the state legislature.
- asset-backed fund — a fund in which the money is invested in property, shares, etc, rather than being deposited with a bank or building society
- associated states — Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, which had the status of associated statehood
- attendance centre — (in Britain) a place at which young offenders are required to attend regularly instead of going to prison
- attendance record — the record of how often a person has attended an institution such as a school
- audience research — research into the make-up and habits of the audience of a particular television or radio programme or network
- audio description — a facility provided for visually impaired people in which a film, television programme, or play is described through audio technology
- aurea mediocritas — the golden mean.
- automatic vending — selling goods by vending machines
- aviation medicine — the branch of medicine concerned with the effects on man of flight in the earth's atmosphere
- bachelor's degree — A bachelor's degree is a first degree awarded by universities.
- background report — a report on someone or something that sheds light on their background, esp a report on the background of a person convicted of a crime before they are sentenced by a judge
- bacteriorhodopsin — a purple protein containing retinal and found in the plasma membrane of certain bacteria (genus Halobacterium): it directly supplies electrochemical energy from sunlight
- bahia de cochinos — Spanish name of Bay of Pigs.
- balanced literacy — a method of teaching reading in which phonics and whole language approaches are both used to maximize student learning.
- balanced sentence — a sentence consisting of two or more clauses that are parallel in structure.
- 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.
- barbed wire fence — a fence constructed from strong wire that has sharply pointed barbs at close intervals along its length
- barmecide (feast) — a pretended feast with no food
- barred woodpecker — a climbing bird, Picoides minor, of the family Picidae
- be black and blue — If you say that someone is black and blue, you mean that they are badly bruised.
- be running scared — If you say that a person or group is running scared, you mean that they are frightened of what someone might do to them or what might happen.
- beardmore glacier — one of the largest glaciers, in central Antarctica. About 125 miles (200 km) long.
- behind one's back — without one's knowledge; secretly or deceitfully
- behind the scenes — happening or conducted out of view of the general public: The behind-the-scenes preparations made the convention a huge success.
- behind-the-scenes — If something is done behind the scenes, it is done secretly rather than publicly.
- bell-shaped curve — bell curve
- bergisch gladbach — city in W Germany, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia: pop. 105,000
- bergisch-gladbach — an industrial city in W Germany, near Cologne.
- bermuda buttercup — a bulbous plant, Oxalis pescaprae, native to southern Africa, having nodding, yellow flowers.
- betagalactosidase — any of a family of enzymes capable of liberating galactose from carbohydrates.
- beyond comparison — outstanding, without equal
- biological shield — a protective shield impervious to radiation, esp the thick concrete wall surrounding the core of a nuclear reactor
- bird's-eye chilli — a small red hot-tasting chilli
- black-backed gull — either of two common black-and-white European coastal gulls, Larus fuscus (lesser black-backed gull) and L. marinus (great black-backed gull)
- black-headed gull — a small gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, that breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and often scavenges in towns
- black-tailed deer — a variety of mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus, of the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, having a tail that is black above.
- blackboard jungle — a school or school system characterized by lack of discipline and by juvenile delinquency.
- blackwells island — a former name of Roosevelt Island.
- blessed sacrament — the consecrated elements of the Eucharist
- blood cholesterol — a measurement of the amount of cholesterol in someone's blood
- blue dog democrat — a fiscally conservative member of the Democratic Party