18-letter words containing e, s, r
- home of the hirsel — Baron, title of Sir Alec Douglas-Home, formerly 14th Earl of Home. 1903–95, British Conservative statesman: he renounced his earldom to become prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1963–64); foreign secretary (1970–74)
- homeowner's policy — a form of home insurance that provides compensation for damage, loss, or injury of property, personal belongings, or persons due to fire, theft, accidents, etc.
- honorary secretary — a unpaid person who is one of the managers of an organization
- honour moderations — (at Oxford University) the first public examination, in which candidates are placed into one of three classes of honours
- horseless carriage — an automobile: The horse and buggy were eventually replaced by the horseless carriage.
- horses for courses — a policy, course of action, etc modified slightly to take account of specific circumstances without departing in essentials from the original
- hotel receptionist — a person who looks after guests when they first arrive at a hotel, checking them in, giving them their keys, etc
- houghton-le-spring — a town in N England, in Sunderland unitary authority, Tyne and Wear: coal-mining. Pop: 36 746 (2001)
- house of burgesses — the assembly of representatives in colonial Virginia.
- hundred years' war — the series of wars between England and France, 1337–1453, in which England lost all its possessions in France except Calais.
- hungry programmers — (body) A group of programmers producing free software.
- hydroxytryptamines — Plural form of hydroxytryptamine.
- hyperaldosteronism — aldosteronism.
- hypercholesteremia — Alternative spelling of hypercholesteraemia.
- hypermodern school — a style of chess characterized by control of the centre from the flanks
- hypernationalistic — a person devoted to nationalism.
- hyperphosphorylate — To phosphorylate fully.
- hypersensitiveness — The state of being hypersensitive.
- hypersensitization — Photography. to treat (a film or emulsion) so as to increase its speed.
- hypersexualisation — Alternative spelling of hypersexualization.
- hypersexualization — The act or process of hypersexualizing.
- hypodermic syringe — a small glass piston or barrel syringe having a detachable, hollow needle for use in injecting solutions subcutaneously.
- hypogastric artery — iliac artery (def 3).
- hypophosphorylated — (biochemistry) phosphorylated to a less than normal extent, or less than fully.
- hypophysis cerebri — the master endocrine gland, attached by a stalk to the base of the brain.
- hysterical reasons — (Or "hysterical raisins") A variant on the stock phrase "for historical reasons", indicating specifically that something must be done in some stupid way for backward compatibility, and moreover that the feature it must be compatible with was the result of a bad design in the first place. "All IBM PC video adaptors have to support MDA text mode for hysterical reasons." Compare bug-for-bug compatible.
- ideas of reference — a schizophrenic symptom in which the patient thinks that things completely disconnected from him are influencing him or conveying messages to him
- immunofluorescence — any of various techniques for detecting an antigen or antibody in a sample by coupling its specifically interactive antibody or antigen to a fluorescent compound, mixing with the sample, and observing the reaction under an ultraviolet-light microscope.
- impressionableness — The quality of being impressionable.
- in another's shoes — in another's position
- in inverted commas — If you say in inverted commas after a word or phrase, you are indicating that it is inaccurate or unacceptable in some way, or that you are quoting someone else.
- in one's own right — in accordance with what is good, proper, or just: right conduct.
- in one's own words — If you say something in your own words, you express it in your own way, without copying or repeating someone else's description.
- in praise of folly — Latin Moriae Encomium. a prose satire (1509) by Erasmus, written in Latin and directed against theologians and church dignitaries.
- in propria persona — represented by oneself and not by an attorney. Abbreviation: in pro. per.
- in someone's power — under the control or sway of someone
- in terrorem clause — a clause in a will stating that a beneficiary who contests the will shall lose his or her legacy.
- in the first place — firstly
- in the grip of sth — If a person, group, or place is in the grip of something, they are being severely affected by it.
- in the interest of — the feeling of a person whose attention, concern, or curiosity is particularly engaged by something: She has a great interest in the poetry of Donne.
- in the last resort — You use in the last resort when stating the most basic or important fact that will still be true in a situation whatever else happens.
- in the same breath — the air inhaled and exhaled in respiration.
- in your mind's eye — If you see something in your mind's eye, you imagine it and have a clear picture of it in your mind.
- incidental charges — Incidental charges are costs of items and services that are not part of the main bill.
- incommensurability — not commensurable; having no common basis, measure, or standard of comparison.
- inconsiderableness — Quality of being inconsiderable.
- indentured servant — a person who came to America and was placed under contract to work for another over a period of time, usually seven years, especially during the 17th to 19th centuries. Generally, indentured servants included redemptioners, victims of religious or political persecution, persons kidnapped for the purpose, convicts, and paupers.
- indestructibleness — The quality of being indestructible.
- indirect discourse — discourse consisting not of an exact quotation of a speaker's words but of a version transformed from them for grammatical inclusion in a larger sentence. He said he was hungry is an example of indirect discourse.
- indiscriminateness — The state of being indiscriminate.