17-letter words containing f, o, r, t
- benefit of clergy — sanction by the church
- between two fires — between two attacks; shot at, criticized, etc. from both sides
- bill of adventure — a certificate made out by a merchant to show that goods handled by him and his agents are the property of another party at whose risk the dealing is done
- bill of attainder — (formerly) a legislative act finding a person guilty without trial of treason or felony and declaring him attainted
- billeting officer — an officer who is responsible for billeting
- biological father — the man whose semen fertilized the ovum from which a child was born
- biotransformation — the metabolizing of some substance, esp. a drug, in the body
- birth of a nation — an American film (1915), directed by D. W. Griffith.
- black forest cake — a torte consisting typically of thin layers of chocolate cake spread with alternating layers of chocolate, cherry, and whipped-cream filling and covered with whipped cream
- blood transfusion — A blood transfusion is a process in which blood is injected into the body of a person who is badly injured or ill.
- blue sky software — eHelp Corporation
- board of estimate — a special organ of a municipal government, as of New York City, composed of the mayor, the president of the city council, and the controller, and charged with approving the city's budget and fiscal matters.
- board of trustees — a governing board which directs the policies of an educational institution
- break the back of — to complete the greatest or hardest part of (a task)
- breathe life into — revive, rejuvenate
- bureau of customs — former name of the United States Customs Service.
- butterfly closure — an adhesive bandage resembling the shape of a butterfly's outstretched wings, used for closing minor cuts.
- buyers' inflation — inflation in which rising demand results in a rise in prices.
- by return of post — by the next mail in the opposite direction
- california nutmeg — a tall, pungently aromatic California evergreen tree, Torreya californica, of the yew family, having a fissured, gray-brown bark and small, purple-streaked, green fruit.
- california privet — a privet, Ligustrum ovalifolium, of the olive family, native to Japan, having glossy, oval leaves and long clusters of white flowers, widely used for hedges in the U.S.
- capital formation — the net additions to a capital stock in an accounting period
- carbon offsetting — a program in which a company, country, etc., reduces or offsets its carbon emissions through the funding of activities and projects that improve the environment: Carbon offsetting does not always have a quantifiable impact on the planet.
- carry a torch for — If you say that someone is carrying a torch for someone else, you mean that they secretly admire them or love them.
- center of gravity — The center of gravity of an object is a point in it. If this point is above the base of the object, it stays stable, rather than falling over.
- centre of gravity — The centre of gravity of an object is a point in it. If this point is above the base of the object, it stays stable, rather than falling over.
- centrifugal force — In physics, centrifugal force is the force that makes objects move outwards when they are spinning around something or travelling in a curve.
- centripetal force — a force that acts inwards on any body that rotates or moves along a curved path and is directed towards the centre of curvature of the path or the axis of rotation
- chart of accounts — A chart of accounts is a list of all the accounts used in a business to classify transactions or report balances.
- charter of rights — a section of the Canadian Constitution containing a statement of the basic rights of citizens of Canada.
- circular function — trigonometric function (def 1).
- city of gibraltar — a city on the Rock of Gibraltar, a limestone promontory at the tip of S Spain: settled by Moors in 711 and taken by Spain in 1462; ceded to Britain in 1713; a British crown colony (1830–1969), still politically associated with Britain; a naval and air base of strategic importance. Pop: 29 111 (2013 est). Area: 6.5 sq km (2.5 sq miles)
- coin of the realm — legal tender.
- coliform bacteria — a large group of bacteria inhabiting the intestinal tract of humans and animals that may cause disease and whose presence in water is an indicator of faecal pollution
- common of turbary — (in England) the legal right to cut peat for fuel on a common
- complete fracture — a bone fracture in which the bone is split completely across.
- compound fraction — complex fraction
- compound fracture — A compound fracture is a fracture in which the broken bone sticks through the skin.
- computer confetti — (jargon) (Or "chad") A common term for punched-card chad, which, however, does not make good confetti, as the pieces are stiff and have sharp corners that could injure the eyes.
- conference centre — a large venue designed for conferences often consisting of a large hall as well as a number of smaller lecture rooms and other facilities
- configurationally — With regard to a configuration.
- confirmation-bias — the tendency to process and analyze information in such a way that it supports one’s preexisting ideas and convictions: Confirmation bias is a major issue when we get all our news from social media sites. Unfortunately, their experimental method was proven invalid due to confirmation bias.
- confrontationally — In a confrontational way.
- conscript fathers — august legislators, esp Roman senators
- contempt of court — Contempt of court is the criminal offence of disobeying an instruction from a judge or a court of law.
- continental drift — Continental drift is the slow movement of the Earth's continents towards and away from each other.
- contraband of war — war materiel, as ammunition or weapons, which, by international law, may rightfully be intercepted and seized by either belligerent when shipped to the other one by a neutral country
- contraflow system — a system of traffic lanes whose normal direction is reversed to allow traffic to move during repairs or an accident
- copious free time — (jargon) (Apple; originally from the introduction to Tom Lehrer's song "It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier") Used ironically to indicate the speaker's lack of the quantity in question; a mythical schedule slot for accomplishing tasks held to be unlikely or impossible. Sometimes used to indicate that the speaker is interested in accomplishing the task, but believes that the opportunity will not arise. "I'll implement the automatic layout stuff in my copious free time." The phrase is also used for time reserved for bogus or otherwise idiotic tasks, such as implementation of bad chrome, or the stroking of suits. "I'll get back to him on that feature in my copious free time."
- counter-influence — the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others: He used family influence to get the contract.