17-letter words containing h, i, n, d, s
- spiny-headed worm — any of a small group of endoparasites of the phylum Acanthocephala, as larvae parasitic in insects and crustaceans and as adults in various vertebrates.
- spondylolisthesis — the forward displacement of a vertebra.
- st. swithin's day — July 15, superstitiously regarded as a day that, should it rain or be fair, will be followed by 40 consecutive days of like weather.
- stannous chloride — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, SnCl 2 ⋅2H 2 O, used chiefly as a reducing and tinning agent, and as a mordant in dyeing with cochineal.
- straw in the wind — If you say that an incident or piece of news is a straw in the wind, you mean that it gives an indication of what might happen in the future.
- stymphalian birds — a flock of predacious birds of Arcadia that were driven away and killed by Hercules as one of his labors.
- sulfonyl chloride — a colorless liquid, SO 2 Cl 2 , having a very pungent odor and corrosive to the skin and mucous membranes: used as a chlorinating or sulfonating agent.
- swaddling clothes — cloth for wrapping around a baby
- the life and soul — a person regarded as the main source of merriment and liveliness
- the silken ladder — a one-act opera by Rossini, telling the story of Giulia, who is secretly married to Dorvil; he visits her bedroom every night by climbing up a ladder made of silk. Giulia's guardian, Dormont, expects her to marry Blansac, but she introduces Blansac to her cousin Lucilla; after much confusion, the two couples are joyfully united
- thermal diffusion — the separation of constituents, often isotopes, of a fluid under the influence of a temperature gradient.
- thiopental sodium — a barbiturate, C 11 H 18 N 2 NaO 2 S, used as an anesthetic in surgery and, in psychiatry, for narcoanalysis and to stimulate recall of past events.
- three mile island — an island in the Susquehanna River, near Middletown, Pennsylvania, SE of Harrisburg: scene of a near-disastrous accident at a nuclear plant in 1979 that raised the issue of nuclear-energy safety.
- three-dimensional — having, or seeming to have, the dimension of depth as well as width and height.
- tibetan highlands — Tibet, Plateau of.
- to win hands down — If you win hands down, you win very easily.
- 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)
- undistinguishable — to mark off as different (often followed by from or by): He was distinguished from the other boys by his height.
- vaginal discharge — emission from the female genitalia
- washing-up liquid — Washing-up liquid is a thick soapy liquid which you add to hot water to clean dirty dishes.
- washington island — an island off the Door Peninsula, NE Wisconsin, in NW Lake Michigan. 20 sq. mi. (50 sq. km).
- 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.
- windowglass shell — capiz.
- 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
- wings of the dove — a novel (1902) by Henry James.
- 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.
- 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.