17-letter words containing i, n, a, u
- 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.
- urban exploration — a recreational activity in which people explore derelict urban structures such as abandoned sewers or underground railways or attempt to access areas which are closed to the public such as the roofs of skyscrapers
- urogenital system — the urinary tract and reproductive organs
- user brain damage — (humour) (UBD) A description (usually abbreviated) used to close a trouble report obviously due to utter cluelessness on the user's part. Compare pilot error; opposite: PBD; see also brain-damaged, PEBCAK.
- utagawa kuniyoshi — original name Igusa Magosabwo. 1797–1861, Japanese painter and printmaker of the ukiyo-e school, best known for his prints of warriors and landscapes
- utopian socialism — (sometimes initial capital letter) an economic system based on the premise that if capital voluntarily surrendered its ownership of the means of production to the state or the workers, unemployment and poverty would be abolished.
- vacuum aspiration — menstrual extraction.
- vacuum extraction — applying suction to a baby's head during birth to help it emerge
- valetudinarianism — the state, condition, or habits of a valetudinarian.
- vanilla-flavoured — having been flavoured with vanilla extract or essence
- vanity publishing — the practice of the author of a book paying all or most of the costs of its publication
- vascular cylinder — stele (sense 3)
- vehicle insurance — Vehicle insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles.
- ventura publisher — Corel VENTURA
- vernacularization — to translate into the natural speech peculiar to a people.
- vibrofluidization — Vibrofluidization is when vibration is used to make particles move in a fluidized bed.
- victor emmanuel i — 1759–1824, king of Sardinia 1802–21.
- victoriano huerta — Victoriano [beek-taw-ryah-naw] /ˌbik tɔˈryɑ nɔ/ (Show IPA), 1854–1916, Mexican general: provisional president of Mexico 1913–14.
- village community — an early form of community organization in which land belonged to the village, the arable land being allotted to the members or households of the community by more or less permanent arrangements and the waste or excess land remaining undivided.
- vinaigrette sauce — a tart sauce of oil, vinegar, and seasonings, sometimes including chopped capers, pickles, etc., usually served cold with salads.
- 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.
- waianae mountains — a mountain range in W Oahu, Hawaii. Highest peak, Mount Kaala, 4025 feet (1228 meters).
- waist measurement — a measure of the circumference of the narrowest part of a person's waist
- waitangi tribunal — (in New Zealand) a government tribunal empowered to examine and make recommendations on Māori claims under the Treaty of Waitangi
- wallis and futuna — French overseas territory in the South Pacific, northeast of the Fiji Islands: it consists of two groups of islands (Wallis Islands and Futuna Islands): c. 106 sq mi (275 sq km); pop. 14,000
- wallowa mountains — a mountain range in NE Oregon. Highest peak, Sacajawea Peak, 9838 feet (2999 meters).
- warehousing costs — the costs involved in storing goods in a warehouse
- washing-up liquid — Washing-up liquid is a thick soapy liquid which you add to hot water to clean dirty dishes.
- washington square — a short novel (1881) by Henry James.
- western australia — a state in W Australia. 975,920 sq. mi. (2,527,635 sq. km). Capital: Perth.
- 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.
- with guns blazing — If you come out with guns blazing or with all guns blazing, you put all your effort and energy into trying to achieve something.
- working substance — a substance, usually a fluid, that undergoes changes in pressure, temperature, volume, or form as part of a process for accomplishing work.
- wrangell-mountain — Mount, an active volcano in SE Alaska, in the Wrangell Mountains. 14,006 feet (4269 meters).
- year in, year out — a period of 365 or 366 days, in the Gregorian calendar, divided into 12 calendar months, now reckoned as beginning Jan. 1 and ending Dec. 31 (calendar year or civil year) Compare common year, leap year.
- year of confusion — (in ancient Rome) the year of 445 days preceding the introduction, in 46 b.c., of the Julian calendar: lengthened to compensate for the cumulative errors of the Roman calendar.
- yellow journalism — a color like that of egg yolk, ripe lemons, etc.; the primary color between green and orange in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 570 and 590 nm.
- your day in court — Your day in court is your chance to give your side of an argument or other matter.
- youth programming — the creation and scheduling of television programmes specifically aimed at young people
- yuzhno-sakhalinsk — a city in the SE Russian Federation in Asia, on S Sakhalin Island.
- zonal pelargonium — a pelargonium whose leaves are marked with concentric circles of a different colour to the rest of the leaf