17-letter words containing o, a, s
- archconservatives — Plural form of archconservative.
- aristolochiaceous — belonging to the Aristolochiaceae, the birthwort family of plants.
- arlington heights — village in NE Ill.: suburb of Chicago: pop. 76,000
- armaments factory — a factory for producing armaments
- armchair shopping — buying goods using a computer, telephone, or television in the home or via the postal system
- arresting officer — the police officer making an arrest
- arsenic poisoning — poisoning by arsenic
- artificial person — a human being, whether an adult or child: The table seats four persons.
- artistic director — a person in charge of the artistic direction of a theatre company
- as far as it goes — If you say that something is good as far as it goes or true so far as it goes, you mean that it is good or true only to a limited extent.
- as the crow flies — If you say that a place is a particular distance away as the crow flies, you mean that it is that distance away measured in a straight line.
- as who should say — as if one should say
- ascend the throne — to become king or queen
- ascertained goods — specific goods
- ashby-de-la-zouch — a town in central England, in Leicestershire: Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned (1569) in the castle. Pop: 11 409 (2001)
- ashton-under-lyne — a town in NW England, in Tameside unitary authority, Greater Manchester. Pop: 43 236 (2001)
- ask for the check — If you ask for the check, you ask the waitperson in a restaurant to bring you a piece of paper on which the price of your meal is written.
- asperger syndrome — a developmental disorder characterized by severely impaired social skills, repetitive behaviors, and often, a narrow set of interests, but not involving delayed development of linguistic and cognitive abilities: now considered one of the autism spectrum disorders.
- assemblies of god — the largest American Pentecostal denomination, formed in 1914 by the merger of various Pentecostal churches and marked by faith healing and speaking in tongues.
- assessable income — the portion of one's income that is subject to tax
- assessment method — a way of assessing something or someone
- associate of arts — a degree granted especially by junior colleges after completion of two years of study. Abbreviation: A.A.
- associated states — Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, which had the status of associated statehood
- association fiber — any of several nerve fibers connecting different areas of the cerebral cortex in the same hemisphere.
- associative array — (programming) (Or "hash", "map", "dictionary") An array where the indices are not just integers but may be arbitrary strings.
- assyro-babylonian — of or relating to Assyria and Babylonia.
- astral projection — the departure of the astral body from the physical body, in order to travel to the astral plane
- astronomical unit — a unit of distance used in astronomy equal to the mean distance between the earth and the sun. 1 astronomical unit is equivalent to 1.495 × 1011 metres or about 9.3 × 107 miles
- astronomical year — year (def 4b).
- astrophotographer — A person, especially an astronomer, who takes photographs of the stars.
- at close quarters — If you do something at close quarters, you do it very near to a particular person or thing.
- at cross purposes — an opposing or contrary purpose.
- at cross-purposes — If people are at cross-purposes, they do not understand each other because they are working towards or talking about different things without realizing it.
- at one fell swoop — to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, especially down upon prey.
- at one's disposal — If you have something at your disposal, you are able to use it whenever you want, and for whatever purpose you want. If you say that you are at someone's disposal, you mean that you are willing to help them in any way you can.
- at one's own pace — If you do something at your own pace, you do it at a speed that is comfortable for you.
- at one's own risk — If you tell someone that they are doing something at their own risk, you are warning them that, if they are harmed, it will be their own responsibility.
- at someone's feet — as someone's disciple
- at someone's hand — from
- at swords' points — ready to quarrel or fight
- at the expense of — If you achieve something at the expense of someone, you do it in a way which might cause them some harm or disadvantage.
- at the request of — in accordance with the specific demand or wish of (someone)
- at the service of — To be at the service of a person or organization means to be available to help or be used by that person or organization.
- attention-seeking — intended to make people take notice
- attorneys-in-fact — a person authorized by power of attorney to act on the authorizer's behalf outside a court of law.
- attraction sphere — centrosphere (sense 1)
- audio description — a facility provided for visually impaired people in which a film, television programme, or play is described through audio technology
- audio-visual aids — training or educational materials directed at both the sense of hearing and the sense of sight; films, recordings, photographs, etc., used in classroom instruction, library collections, or the like.
- audubon's warbler — a common North American wood warbler, Dendroica coronata, having yellow spots on the rump, crown, and sides, including a white-throated eastern subspecies (myrtle warbler) and a yellow-throated western subspecies (Audubon's warbler)
- aurea mediocritas — the golden mean.