17-letter words containing n, a, d, s
- majority decision — a decision supported by more than half the people involved
- make inroads into — to start to use up the supply of something
- maladministration — to administer or manage badly or inefficiently: The mayor was a bungler who maladministered the city budget.
- man's best friend — a dog, especially as a pet.
- manganese dioxide — a blackish, crystalline or powdery substance, MnO2, that is a strong oxidizing agent, used in making batteries, matches, etc.
- manitoulin island — an island in N Lake Huron belonging to Canada. 80 miles (130 km) long.
- marais des cygnes — a river in E central Kansas and W Missouri, flowing SE to the Osage River. 150 miles (241 km) long.
- mare fecunditatis — (Sea of Fertility) a dark plain in the fourth quadrant and extending into the first quadrant of the face of the moon: about 160,000 sq. mi. (415,000 sq. km).
- marquesas islands — a group of volcanic islands in the S Pacific, in French Polynesia. Pop: 8712 (2002). Area: 1287 sq km (497 sq miles)
- martha's vineyard — an island off SE Massachusetts: summer resort. About 100 sq. mi. (259 sq. km).
- mascarene islands — a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, E of Madagascar, including Mauritius, Reunion, and Rodrigues.
- mass merchandiser — a retailer or retail store that seeks to sell large quantities of goods quickly through such means as discounting, customer self-service, or unadorned display and packaging, as in a warehouse.
- mean piston speed — The mean piston speed is the distance traveled by a piston in a specified amount of time.
- mean-spiritedness — the quality of being mean-spirited
- meat and potatoes — If you refer to the meat and potatoes of something, you mean its most basic, simple, and essential parts.
- meat-and-potatoes — fundamental; down-to-earth; basic: What are the meat-and-potatoes issues of the election?
- media access unit — (networking) (MAU or Multistation Access Unit, MSAU) In a Token Ring network, a device to attach multiple network stations in a star topology, internally wired to connect the stations into a logical ring. The MAU contains relays to short out nonoperating stations. Multiple MAUs can be connected into a larger ring through their Ring In/Ring Out connectors.
- medical insurance — a type of insurance intended to cover possible future medical expenses
- mediterranean sea — a sea surrounded by Africa, Europe, and Asia. 2400 miles (3865 km) long; 1,145,000 sq. mi. (2,965,550 sq. km); greatest known depth 14,436 feet (4400 meters).
- ménière's disease — a disease of the labyrinth of the ear, characterized by deafness, ringing in the ears, dizziness, and nausea.
- mental disability — a general or specific intellectual handicap, resulting directly or indirectly from injury to the brain or from abnormal neurological development
- metatungstic acid — an oxyacid acid of tungsten. Formula: H2W4O13
- mexican stand-off — A Mexican stand-off is a situation in which neither of the people or groups in a conflict or dispute can win and neither wants to give in first.
- microdermabrasion — A cosmetic treatment in which the face is sprayed with exfoliant crystals to remove dead epidermal cells.
- microdistillation — the distillation of minute quantities of material.
- microencapsulated — Encapsulated using microencapsulation.
- midsagittal plane — a plane passing through the nasion when the skull is oriented in the Frankfurt horizontal.
- midsummer madness — a temporary lapse into foolishness, senseless behavior, folly, etc., especially during the summer: His plan to become a beachcomber is midsummer madness.
- mies van der rohe — Ludwig [luhd-wig] /ˈlʌd wɪg/ (Show IPA), 1886–1969, U.S. architect, born in Germany.
- minas de riotinto — a town in SW Spain: copper mines.
- misadministration — the management of any office, business, or organization; direction.
- misidentification — to identify incorrectly.
- mistaken identity — when sb is identified as sb else
- misunderstandable — Capable of being misunderstood.
- misunderstandings — Plural form of misunderstanding.
- mode of transport — means of travel
- mom and pop store — a small retail business, typically family-operated
- monkeygland sauce — a piquant sauce, made from tomatoes, ketchup, fruit chutney, garlic, spices, etc
- monoamine oxidase — a copper-containing enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of monoamines. Abbreviation: MAO.
- moon and sixpence — a novel (1919) by W. Somerset Maugham.
- multidisciplinary — composed of or combining several usually separate branches of learning or fields of expertise: a multidisciplinary study of the 18th century.
- mundane astrology — the astrology of worldly events, in contrast to the astrology of the individual: used especially in interpretations and forecasts involving politics, the stock market, weather, and disasters.
- musical interlude — an interval in a play, event or occasion during which music is played
- mustard and cress — Mustard and cress is very young mustard plants and cress plants grown together and eaten in salad.
- naked singularity — an infinitely dense point mass without a surrounding black hole
- narrow-shouldered — having shoulders which do not extend very far from the neck; not broad-shouldered
- nasolacrimal duct — a membranous canal extending from the lacrimal sac to the nasal cavity, through which tears are discharged into the nose.
- nervous breakdown — (not in technical use) any disabling mental disorder requiring treatment.
- new england aster — a tall composite plant, Aster novae-angliae, of the northeastern U.S., the flowers of which have lavender to deep-purple rays.
- new scotland yard — See under Scotland Yard (def 1).