17-letter words containing d, r, o, s, t
- foundation course — A foundation course is a course that you do at some colleges and universities in order to prepare yourself for a longer or more advanced course.
- four-letter words — any of a number of short words, usually of four letters, considered offensive or vulgar because of their reference to excrement or sex.
- fractal dimension — (mathematics) A common type of fractal dimension is the Hausdorff-Besicovich Dimension, but there are several different ways of computing fractal dimension. Fractal dimension can be calculated by taking the limit of the quotient of the log change in object size and the log change in measurement scale, as the measurement scale approaches zero. The differences come in what is exactly meant by "object size" and what is meant by "measurement scale" and how to get an average number out of many different parts of a geometrical object. Fractal dimensions quantify the static *geometry* of an object. For example, consider a straight line. Now blow up the line by a factor of two. The line is now twice as long as before. Log 2 / Log 2 = 1, corresponding to dimension 1. Consider a square. Now blow up the square by a factor of two. The square is now 4 times as large as before (i.e. 4 original squares can be placed on the original square). Log 4 / log 2 = 2, corresponding to dimension 2 for the square. Consider a snowflake curve formed by repeatedly replacing ___ with _/\_, where each of the 4 new lines is 1/3 the length of the old line. Blowing up the snowflake curve by a factor of 3 results in a snowflake curve 4 times as large (one of the old snowflake curves can be placed on each of the 4 segments _/\_). Log 4 / log 3 = 1.261... Since the dimension 1.261 is larger than the dimension 1 of the lines making up the curve, the snowflake curve is a fractal. [sci.fractals FAQ].
- frankenstein food — any foodstuff that has been genetically modified
- from side to side — movement: back and forth
- garboard (strake) — the strake adjoining the keel
- goldbeater's skin — the prepared outside membrane of the large intestine of the ox, used by goldbeaters to lay between the leaves of the metal while they beat it into gold leaf.
- graduated pension — the money that an employee receives after retirement if they have paid into the graduated pension scheme
- ground angle shot — a photograph or film shot in which the lens is near the ground, usually pointing up somewhat
- gustavo a. madero — official name of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
- heart of darkness — a short novel (1902) by Joseph Conrad.
- heterochlamydeous — (of a plant) having a perianth consisting of distinct sepals and petals
- historical method — the process of establishing general facts and principles through attention to chronology and to the evolution or historical course of what is being studied.
- hold one's breath — If you say that someone is holding their breath, you mean that they are waiting anxiously or excitedly for something to happen.
- hold sb to ransom — If you say that someone is holding you to ransom in British English, or holding you for ransom in American English, you mean that they are using their power to try to force you to do something which you do not want to do.
- homeland security — national defence
- hornblende schist — a variety of schist containing needles of hornblende that lie in parallel planes.
- hot-and-sour soup — a spicy Chinese soup made with pork, chicken, beans, vinegar, etc., served hot
- hottentot's bread — elephant's-foot.
- hydrogasification — a high-temperature, high-pressure process for producing liquid or gaseous fuels from fine particles of coal and hydrogen gas
- hydrotherapeutics — hydrotherapy.
- icositetrahedrons — Plural form of icositetrahedron.
- idiosyncratically — pertaining to the nature of idiosyncrasy, or something peculiar to an individual: The best minds are idiosyncratic and unpredictable as they follow the course of scientific discovery.
- immediate version — child version
- in/into disrepair — If something is in disrepair or is in a state of disrepair, it is broken or in bad condition.
- inconsiderateness — without due regard for the rights or feelings of others: It was inconsiderate of him to keep us waiting.
- indecent exposure — the intentional exposure of one's body's privates in a manner that gives offense against accepted or prescribed behavior.
- indicator species — See at indicator (def 6).
- indirect question — An indirect question is the same as a reported question.
- industrial action — job action.
- industrial school — a school for teaching one or more branches of industry; trade or vocational school.
- industrialisation — Alternative spelling of industrialization.
- industrialization — the large-scale introduction of manufacturing, advanced technical enterprises, and other productive economic activity into an area, society, country, etc.
- infantry division — a military division composed of infantry
- integrated course — a course that covers several subjects
- integrated optics — an assembly of miniature optical elements of a size comparable to those used in electronic integrated circuits.
- integrated school — (in New Zealand) a private or church school that has joined the state school system
- interior designer — a person whose profession is the execution of interior design.
- intermediate host — the host in which a parasite undergoes development but does not reach sexual maturity.
- inverted snobbery — the attitude of an inverted snob
- it doesn't matter — You say 'it doesn't matter' to tell someone who is apologizing to you that you are not angry or upset, and that they should not worry.
- job advertisement — an announcement in a newspaper, on television, or on a poster about a post of employment
- job-order costing — a method of cost accounting by which the total cost of a given unit or quantity is determined by computing the costs that go into making a product as it moves through the manufacturing process.
- judgment of paris — the decision by Paris to award Aphrodite the golden apple of discord competed for by Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera.
- kastor and pollux — Castor and Pollux.
- lagrange's method — a procedure for finding maximum and minimum values of a function of several variables when the variables are restricted by additional conditions.
- lambdoidal suture — the lambda-shaped seam or line of joining between the occipital and two parietal bones at the back part of the skull.
- lan administrator — (job) A person who installs and maintains LAN hardware and software. A LAN administrator troubleshoots network usage and computer peripherals. He installs new users, performs system backups and data recovery, and resolves LAN communications problems.
- least upper bound — an upper bound that is less than or equal to all the upper bounds of a particular set. 3 is the least upper bound of the set consisting of 1, 2, 3. Abbr.: lub.
- lepidopterologist — One who studies lepidopterology.