17-letter words containing i, r, s, a
- spring cankerworm — the striped, green caterpillar of any of several geometrid moths: a foliage pest of various fruit and shade trees, as Paleacrita vernata (spring cankerworm) and Alsophila pometaria (fall cankerworm)
- spruce gall aphid — any of various homopterous insects of the family Adelgidae, as Adelges abietis (spruce gall aphid) and Pineus pinifoliae (pine leaf aphid) that feed and form galls on conifers.
- square centimeter — a unit of area measurement equal to a square measuring one centimeter on each side. 2 , sq. cm. Abbreviation: cm.
- square millimeter — a unit of area measurement equal to a square measuring one millimeter on each side. 2 , sq. mm. Abbreviation: mm.
- square the circle — a rectangle having all four sides of equal length.
- squash vine borer — the larva of a clearwing moth, Melittia satyriniformis, that bores into the stems of squash and related plants.
- squatter's rights — the rights to a property claimed by someone who has occupied it in the owner's absence
- sri international — (company) One of the world's largest contract research firms. Founded in 1946 in conjuction with Stanford University as the Stanford Research Institute, they later became fully independent and were incorporated as a non-profit organisation under U.S. and California laws. SRI does research and development in many areas, independently and for hire. They produce and sell reports on the independent research. Address: Menlo Park, California, USA; Cambridge, UK.
- st. crispin's day — October 25: anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt (1415).
- standard function — a subprogram provided by a translator that carries out a task, for example the computation of a mathematical function, such as sine, square root, etc
- 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.
- stannous fluoride — a white, crystalline powder, SnF 2 , slightly soluble in water: used as a source of fluorine in the prevention of dental caries, especially as a toothpaste additive.
- stare in the face — to gaze fixedly and intently, especially with the eyes wide open.
- stars and stripes — US national flag
- state legislature — laws of a country
- stationary engine — an engine mounted in a fixed position, as one used for driving generators, compressors, etc.
- statue of liberty — a large copper statue, on Liberty Island, in New York harbor, depicting a woman holding a burning torch: designed by F. A. Bartholdi and presented to the U.S. by France; unveiled 1886.
- statutory holiday — a public holiday; a holiday all workers are entitled to
- statutory meeting — company shareholders' discussion
- steamboat springs — a town in NW Colorado: ski resort.
- stellar evolution — the sequence of changes that occurs in a star as it ages
- stereolithography — a process for creating three-dimensional objects using a computer-controlled laser to build up the required structure, layer by layer, from a liquid photopolymer that solidifies.
- stochastic matrix — a square matrix with positive entries totaling 1 in each row.
- stock certificate — a certificate evidencing ownership of one or more shares of stock in a corporation.
- stolen generation — Aboriginal children removed from their families and placed in institutions or fostered by White families between 1910 and 1970
- storm in a teacup — a violent fuss or disturbance over a trivial matter
- straight arm lift — a wrestling attack, in which a wrestler twists the opponent's arm against the joint and lifts him or her by it, often using the shoulder as a fulcrum
- strait of otranto — a stretch of water between SE Italy and Albania, connecting the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea; of strategic importance during World War I
- strange interlude — a play (1928) by Eugene O'Neill.
- stratified sample — a sample that is not drawn at random from the whole population, but separately from a number of disjoint strata of the population in order to ensure a more representative sample
- 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.
- stray capacitance — undesired capacitance in equipment, occurring between the wiring, between the wiring and the chassis, or between components and the chassis
- stress relaxation — Stress relaxation is a gradual reduction in stress with time at constant strain.
- strike-slip fault — a geological fault on which the movement is along the strike of the fault
- stuttgart disease — an often fatal intestinal disease in dogs, caused by any of several spirochetes of the genus Leptospira.
- stymphalian birds — a flock of predacious birds of Arcadia that were driven away and killed by Hercules as one of his labors.
- subclavian artery — either of a pair of arteries, one on each side of the body, that carry the main supply of blood to the arms.
- subclavian groove — either of two grooves in the first rib, one for the main artery (subclavian artery) and the other for the main vein (subclavian vein) of the arm
- subordinated debt — a debt that an unsecured creditor can only claim, in the event of a liquidation, after the claims of secured creditors have been paid
- subscription rate — the price charged for a subscription
- subsidiary ledger — (in accounting) a ledger containing a group of detailed and related accounts the total of which is summarized in the control account.
- substantive right — a right, as life, liberty, or property, recognized for its own sake and as part of the natural legal order of society.
- subtractive color — cyan, yellow, or magenta, as used in the subtractive process of color photography.
- sufficient reason — the principle that nothing happens by pure chance, but that an explanation must always be available
- sun-2 workstation — (computer) A Unix workstation produced by Sun Microsystems, Inc., based on the Motorola 68000. Followed by the Sun-3 Workstation.
- sun-3 workstation — (computer) A Unix workstation produced by Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the 1980s, based on the Motorola 68020. Successor to the Sun-2 Workstation, followed by the Sun-4 Workstation. The Sun-3 had a custom MMU. A couple of mutant models used an entirely different architecture.
- sun-4 workstation — (computer) A Unix workstation produced by Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the late 1980s[?], based on SPARC processors. The Sun-4 followed the Sun-3 Workstation. Later SPARC-based workstations were called "SPARCstations".
- super-nationalism — an extreme or fanatical loyalty or devotion to a nation.
- super-terrestrial — pertaining to, consisting of, or representing the earth as distinct from other planets.
- superaerodynamics — the branch of aerodynamics that deals with gases at very low densities.