17-letter words containing e, c, r, u
- surface treatment — A surface treatment is a process applied to the surface of a material to make it better in some way, for example by making it more resistant to corrosion or wear.
- surgical dressing — a dressing made of cotton, used for incisions made during surgery
- synchronous speed — the speed at which an alternating-current machine must operate to generate electromotive force at a given frequency.
- tactile corpuscle — an oval sense organ made of flattened cells and encapsulated nerve endings, occurring in hairless skin, as the tips of the fingers and toes, and functioning as a touch receptor.
- teacher education — training to become a teacher, usually at an institution of higher education
- technical support — an advising and troubleshooting service provided by a manufacturer, typically a software or hardware developer, to its customers, often online or on the telephone.
- temperature chart — a chart monitoring and recording somebody's body temperature, as of a patient at a hospital, etc
- temporary account — A temporary account is an account which is closed out at the end of the year.
- terminal juncture — a form of juncture consisting of a change in pitch before a pause, marking the end of an utterance or a break between utterances, as between clauses. Compare close juncture, juncture (def 7), open juncture.
- territorial court — a court established in U.S. territories that is empowered to hear local and federal cases.
- tertiary consumer — a carnivore at the topmost level in a food chain that feeds on other carnivores; an animal that feeds only on secondary consumers.
- textual criticism — lower criticism.
- the black country — the formerly heavily industrialized region of central England, northwest of Birmingham
- the carboniferous — the Carboniferous period or rock system
- the cold shoulder — a show of indifference; slight
- the final curtain — the closing of the curtain at the end of the action of a play
- the rann of kutch — an extensive salt waste in W central India, and S Pakistan: consists of the Great Rann in the north and the Little Rann in the southeast; seasonal alternation between marsh and desert; some saltworks. In 1968 an international tribunal awarded about 10 per cent of the border area to Pakistan. Area: 23 000 sq km (9000 sq miles)
- the witching hour — the hour at which witches are supposed to appear, usually midnight
- therapeutic index — the ratio between the dosage of a drug that causes a lethal effect and the dosage that causes a therapeutic effect.
- therapeutic touch — the laying on of hands by a healer
- thermocoagulation — the coagulation of tissue by heat-producing high-frequency electric currents, used therapeutically to remove small growths or to create specific lesions in the brain.
- thread escutcheon — a raised metal rim around a keyhole.
- three-course meal — A three-course meal is a meal that consists of three parts served one after the other.
- three-piece suite — a set of three matching pieces of furniture, usually a combination of a sofa and chairs
- three-ring circus — a circus having three adjacent rings in which performances take place simultaneously.
- to come up trumps — If you say that someone came up trumps, you mean that they did something successfully, often when they were not expected to.
- to risk your neck — If you say that someone is risking their neck, you mean they are doing something very dangerous, often in order to achieve something.
- to run its course — If something runs its course or takes its course, it develops naturally and comes to a natural end.
- to show your face — If you show your face somewhere, you go there and see people, although you are not welcome, are rather unwilling to go, or have not been there for some time.
- top-security wing — a wing of a prison, mental hospital, etc that has a very high level of precautions against escape
- torricellian tube — a vertical glass tube partly evacuated and partly filled with mercury, the height of which is used as a measure of atmospheric pressure
- touch a raw nerve — If you say that you have touched a nerve or touched a raw nerve, you mean that you have accidentally upset someone by talking about something that they feel strongly about or are very sensitive about.
- transfer function — The transfer function of a circuit is the ratio of the response to the input.
- triboluminescence — luminescence produced by friction, usually within a crystalline substance.
- trouble came back — (jargon) (TCB) An IBM term for an intermittent or difficult-to-reproduce problem that has failed to respond to neglect or shotgun debugging. Compare heisenbug.
- trucial sheikdoms — an independent federation in E Arabia, formed in 1971, now comprising seven emirates on the S coast (formerly, Pirate Coast or Trucial Coast) of the Persian Gulf, formerly under British protection: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah (joined 1972), and Fujairah. About 32,300 sq. mi. (83,657 sq. km). Capital: Abu Dhabi. Abbreviation: U.A.E.
- tubercle bacillus — the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causing tuberculosis.
- tuberculin-tested — (of milk) produced by cows that have been certified as free of tuberculosis
- turbidity current — a turbid, dense current of sediments in suspension moving along the slope and bottom of a lake or ocean.
- turbosupercharger — (formerly) a turbocharger.
- turn of the screw — a short novel (1898) by Henry James.
- turn on the charm — If someone turns on the charm, they behave in a way that seems very friendly but which you think is insincere, often in order to obtain something or deceive someone.
- turn-down service — In a hotel, a turn-down service is the preparation of a room for a guest to sleep in by slightly turning back the comforter on the bed, turning down the lights, and so on.
- ultraconservative — extremely conservative, especially in politics.
- 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.
- uncomprehendingly — to understand the nature or meaning of; grasp with the mind; perceive: He did not comprehend the significance of the ambassador's remark.
- uncooperativeness — working or acting together willingly for a common purpose or benefit.