17-letter words containing e, n, s, h, r
- castle in the air — a hope or desire unlikely to be realized; daydream
- catcher resonator — See under Klystron.
- celestial horizon — the line or circle that forms the apparent boundary between earth and sky.
- cellulose varnish — a varnish made from cellulose nitrate, used as a protective sealing film
- châlons-sur-marne — city in NE France, on the Marne River: scene of defeat ( a.d. 451) of Attila by the Romans: pop. 50,000
- chancery division — (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice
- chanson de roland — English The Song of Roland. a chanson de geste (c1100) relating Roland's brave deeds and death at Roncesvalles and Charlemagne's revenge.
- chapter and verse — If you say that someone gives you chapter and verse on a particular subject, you are emphasizing that they tell you every detail about it.
- character defense — a personality trait, as a habitual tendency to idealize or rationalize, that serves some unconscious defensive purpose.
- character witness — a witness in a trial who testifies to the accused's general good character rather than providing evidence about the specific offence which has led to him or her being on trial
- characterisations — Plural form of characterisation.
- characterizations — portrayal; description: the actor's characterization of a politician.
- characterlessness — The state or condition of being characterless; lack of character.
- charles henry dow — Charles Henry, 1851–1902, U.S. journalist and publisher: a founder of Dow Jones company.
- charles lindbergh — Anne (Spencer) Morrow, 1906–2001, U.S. writer (wife of Charles Augustus Lindbergh).
- charles townshend — Charles, 1725–67, English politician, chancellor of the exchequer for whom the Townshend Acts are named.
- chelsea pensioner — an old ex-soldier resident in the Chelsea Royal Hospital
- chest compression — Chest compression is the act of applying pressure to someone's chest in order to help blood flow through the heart in an emergency situation.
- chest measurement — the circumference of the trunk, measured around the middle of the chest
- chicken drumstick — a chicken leg, considered as food
- chiltern hundreds — (in Britain) short for Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds; a nominal office that an MP applies for in order to resign his seat
- chinese artichoke — a hairy plant, Stachys affinis, of China and Japan, having numerous small, white, edible tubers.
- chinese evergreen — a tropical Asian plant, Aglaonema modestum, of the arum family, often grown indoors, in water or soil, for its glossy green foliage.
- chinese turkestan — the E part of the central Asian region of Turkestan: corresponds generally to the present-day Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China
- chinese vermilion — pimento (def 3).
- chord progression — movement from chord to chord
- christian science — Christian Science is a type of Christianity which emphasizes the use of prayer to cure illness.
- christmas present — a present given at Christmas time, typically on Christmas Day
- chromosome number — the number of chromosomes present in each somatic cell, which is constant for any one species of plant or animal. In the reproductive cells this number is halved
- circle the wagons — to take defensive action; prepare for an attack: from arranging a wagon train in a circular formation
- citizen's charter — (formerly, in Britain) a government document setting out standards of service for public and private sector bodies, such as schools, hospitals, railway companies, water and energy suppliers, etc
- civil partnership — A civil partnership is a legal relationship between two people of the same sex that is similar to marriage.
- close parenthesis — right parenthesis
- close the door on — rule out, exclude
- combine harvester — A combine harvester is a large machine which is used on farms to cut, sort, and clean grain.
- come to handgrips — to engage in hand-to-hand fighting
- comprehensibility — capable of being comprehended or understood; intelligible.
- comprehensiveness — of large scope; covering or involving much; inclusive: a comprehensive study of world affairs.
- concurrent scheme — (language) A parallel Lisp, for the Mayfly by M. Swanson
- congestion charge — Congestion charges refer to money motorists must pay in order to drive in some city centres. Congestion charges are intended to reduce traffic within those areas.
- conscript fathers — august legislators, esp Roman senators
- conspiracy theory — A conspiracy theory is a belief that a group of people are secretly trying to harm someone or achieve something. You usually use this term to suggest that you think this is unlikely.
- consumer research — business: investigation of behaviors
- consumer watchdog — an organization or government agency that campaigns for consumers
- coral honeysuckle — trumpet honeysuckle.
- correspondentship — The role or status of correspondent.
- counterchallenges — Plural form of counterchallenge.
- cross one's heart — to promise or pledge, esp by making the sign of a cross over one's heart
- cross the rubicon — If you say that someone has crossed the Rubicon, you mean that they have reached a point where they cannot change a decision or course of action.
- d-shell connector — (hardware) One of the family of connectors: DA-15, DB-25, DC-37, DD-50, DE-9, and DEH-15 [VGA]. The "D" is the shape of the shell, the next letter determines connector size, and the number is the maximum pin count.