17-letter words containing h, e, r, n, i
- trigger mechanism — a physiological or psychological process caused by a stimulus and resulting in a usually severe reaction.
- turkish towelling — woven cloth which is used to make towels, wash cloths, etc
- ultimate strength — the quantity of the utmost tensile, compressive, or shearing stress that a given unit area of a certain material is expected to bear without failing.
- uncomprehendingly — to understand the nature or meaning of; grasp with the mind; perceive: He did not comprehend the significance of the ambassador's remark.
- under the sign of — during that portion of the year when the sun is passing through and thus subject to the influence of (a specified sign of the zodiac)
- up/raise the ante — If you up the ante or raise the ante, you increase your demands when you are in dispute or fighting for something.
- vaginal discharge — emission from the female genitalia
- vehicle insurance — Vehicle insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles.
- ventura publisher — Corel VENTURA
- victoriano huerta — Victoriano [beek-taw-ryah-naw] /ˌbik tɔˈryɑ nɔ/ (Show IPA), 1854–1916, Mexican general: provisional president of Mexico 1913–14.
- voice synthesizer — a computer system that is used to artificially produce the human voice
- vulcan death grip — (jargon) A variant of Vulcan nerve pinch derived from a Star Trek classic epsisode where a non-existant "Vulcan death grip" was used to fool Romulans that Spock had killed Kirk.
- war establishment — the full wartime complement of men, equipment, and vehicles of a military unit
- warehousing costs — the costs involved in storing goods in a warehouse
- washington square — a short novel (1881) by Henry James.
- weather-resistant — resisting the effects of severe weather, as rain or cold: weather-resistant cloth for topcoats.
- weigh one's words — a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning. Words are composed of one or more morphemes and are either the smallest units susceptible of independent use or consist of two or three such units combined under certain linking conditions, as with the loss of primary accent that distinguishes black·bird· from black· bird·. Words are usually separated by spaces in writing, and are distinguished phonologically, as by accent, in many languages.
- wheatstone bridge — a circuit for measuring an unknown resistance by comparing it with known resistances.
- whiskey rebellion — a revolt of settlers in western Pennsylvania in 1794 against a federal excise tax on whiskey: suppressed by militia called out by President George Washington to establish the authority of the federal government.
- whiter than white — extremely clean and white
- wimshurst machine — a device for the production of electric charge by electrostatic induction, consisting of two oppositely rotating glass or mica disks carrying metal strips upon which charges are induced and subsequently removed by contact with metallic combs.
- winchester bushel — a unit of dry measure containing 4 pecks, equivalent in the U.S. (and formerly in England) to 2150.42 cubic inches or 35.24 liters (Winchester bushel) and in Great Britain to 2219.36 cubic inches or 36.38 liters (Imperial bushel) Abbreviation: bu., bush.
- windscreen washer — a small nozzle on the bonnet of a motor vehicle, from which jets of water are squirted electronically onto the windscreen to help clean it
- winter heliotrope — a creeping perennial, Petasites fragrans, related to the butterbur, having lilac to heliotrope-coloured flowers smelling of vanilla: found chiefly on road verges
- with a difference — If you describe a job or holiday, for example, as a job with a difference or a holiday with a difference, you mean that the job or holiday is very interesting and unusual.
- woolly rhinoceros — an extinct rhinoceros; Coelodonta antiquitatis
- world without end — for ever
- worth one's while — a period or interval of time: to wait a long while; He arrived a short while ago.
- wring one's hands — If someone wrings their hands, they hold them together and twist and turn them, usually because they are very worried or upset about something. You can also say that someone is wringing their hands when they are expressing sorrow that a situation is so bad but are saying that they are unable to change it.
- write the book on — to be the definitive authority or expert on
- wuthering heights — a novel (1846) by Emily Brontë.
- yorkshire pudding — a pudding made of an unsweetened batter of flour, salt, eggs, and milk, baked under meat as it roasts to catch the drippings or baked separately with a small amount of meat drippings.