17-letter words containing o, h, m, s
- damon and pythias — two friends noted for their mutual loyalty. Damon offered himself as a hostage for Pythias, who was to be executed for treason by Dionysius of Syracuse. When Pythias returned to save his friend's life, he was pardoned
- death's-head moth — a European hawk moth, Acherontia atropos, having markings resembling a human skull on its upper thorax
- despotic monarchy — absolute monarchy.
- dimethylsulfoxide — DMSO.
- doberman pinscher — one of a German breed of medium-sized, short-haired dogs having a black, brown, or blue coat with rusty brown markings.
- douglas macarthur — Douglas, 1880–1964, U.S. general: supreme commander of allied forces in SW Pacific during World War II and of UN forces in Korea 1950–51.
- down in the dumps — If you are down in the dumps, you are feeling very depressed and miserable.
- elementary school — primary school
- encephalomyelitis — Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, typically due to acute viral infection.
- ethnomusicologist — A researcher in the field of ethnomusicology.
- exhaust emissions — Exhaust emissions are substances that come out of an exhaust system into the atmosphere.
- firehose syndrome — (networking, jargon) An absence, failure or inadequacy of flow control mechanisms causing the sender to overwhelm the receiver. The implication is that, like trying to drink from a firehose, the consequenses are worse than just loss of data, e.g. the receiver may crash. See ping-flood.
- for the most part — a portion or division of a whole that is separate or distinct; piece, fragment, fraction, or section; constituent: the rear part of the house; to glue the two parts together.
- freedom of speech — the right of people to express their opinions publicly without governmental interference, subject to the laws against libel, incitement to violence or rebellion, etc.
- french somaliland — a former name of Djibouti (def 1).
- from the rooftops — If you shout something from the rooftops, you say it or announce it in a very public way.
- gas chromatograph — a chromatograph used for the separation of volatile substances.
- give someone hell — the place or state of punishment of the wicked after death; the abode of evil and condemned spirits; Gehenna or Tartarus.
- grist to the mill — If you say that something is grist to the mill, you mean that it is useful for a particular purpose or helps support someone's point of view.
- haematocrystallin — Alternative form of hematocrystallin.
- harmonic analysis — the calculation of Fourier series and their generalization.
- hemiglossectomies — Plural form of hemiglossectomy.
- heterochlamydeous — (of a plant) having a perianth consisting of distinct sepals and petals
- heterochromosomes — Plural form of heterochromosome.
- high commissioner — a representative of one sovereign member of the Commonwealth of Nations in the country of another, having a rank and responsibilities generally similar to those of an ambassador.
- hippocampal gyrus — a convolution on the inner surface of the temporal lobe of the cerebrum, bordering the hippocampus.
- histamine blocker — any of various substances that act at a specific receptor site to block certain actions of histamine.
- historical method — the process of establishing general facts and principles through attention to chronology and to the evolution or historical course of what is being studied.
- hold sb to ransom — If you say that someone is holding you to ransom in British English, or holding you for ransom in American English, you mean that they are using their power to try to force you to do something which you do not want to do.
- holistic medicine — incorporating the concept of holism, or the idea that the whole is more than merely the sum of its parts, in theory or practice: holistic psychology.
- home improvements — improvements to one's home, such as new kitchens and bathrooms, central heating etc
- homeland security — national defence
- homework exercise — an exercise that is set as homework
- homo floresiensis — a possible species of very small, primitive human: its fossils were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003.
- homogentisic acid — an intermediate compound in the metabolism of tyrosine and of phenylalanine, found in excess in the blood and urine of persons affected with alkaptonuria.
- homolytic fission — the dissociation of a molecule into two neutral fragments
- house of assembly — the legislature or the lower house of the legislature in certain countries of the Commonwealth of Nations.
- house of ill fame — a house of prostitution; brothel
- household ammonia — diluted ammonia, often having a small quantity of detergent, used in the home for cleaning.
- hurler's syndrome — a medical condition characterized by physical deformity and mental deficiency
- hypocholesteremia — an abnormally low amount of cholesterol in the blood.
- hypovolemic shock — a type of shock caused by reduced blood volume, as from massive bleeding or dehydration.
- implosion therapy — a form of behavior therapy involving intensive recollection and review of anxiety-producing situations or events in a patient's life in an attempt to develop more appropriate responses to similar situations in the future.
- implosive-therapy — a form of behavior therapy involving intensive recollection and review of anxiety-producing situations or events in a patient's life in an attempt to develop more appropriate responses to similar situations in the future.
- in the same canoe — of the same tribe
- incomprehensively — In an incomprehensive manner.
- intermediate host — the host in which a parasite undergoes development but does not reach sexual maturity.
- isherwood framing — a system for framing steel vessels in which light, closely spaced, longitudinal frames are connected by heavy, widely spaced transverse frames with deep webs.
- isomorphism class — (mathematics) A collection of all the objects isomorphic to a given object. Talking about the isomorphism class (of a poset, say) ensures that we will only consider its properties as a poset, and will not consider other incidental properties it happens to have.
- isthmus of panama — an isthmus linking North and South America, between the Pacific and the Caribbean. Length: 676 km (420 miles). Width (at its narrowest point): 50 km (31 miles)