19-letter words containing o, r, a
- air-cushion vehicle — a vehicle that travels just above the surface of land or water on a cushion of air provided by a downward jet from its engines, propellers, etc.
- air-traffic control — a government service that facilitates the safe and orderly movement of aircraft within and between airports by receiving and processing data from radar and devices that monitor local weather conditions and by maintaining radio contact with pilots.
- aldridge-brownhills — a town in central England, in Walsall unitary authority, West Midlands: formed by the amalgamation of neighbouring towns in 1966. Pop: 35 525 (2001)
- alexander von kluck — Alexander von [ah-le-ksahn-duh r fuh n] /ˌɑ lɛˈksɑn dər fən/ (Show IPA), 1846–1934, German general.
- algebraic extension — a field containing a given field such that every element in the first field is algebraic over the given field.
- algebraic operation — any of the mathematical operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, raising to a power, or extraction of a root.
- algorithmic trading — trading on international stock exchanges using computers that have been programmed to buy and sell shares according to fixed rules
- alice-in-wonderland — fantastic; irrational
- all in a day's work — If you say that a task is all in a day's work for someone, you mean that they do not mind doing it although it may be difficult, because it is part of their job or because they often do it.
- alpha canis majoris — Sirius
- alpha canis minoris — Procyon
- alpha ursae minoris — Polaris
- alternating voltage — a voltage that reverses direction in regular cycles.
- alternative history — a genre of fiction in which the author speculates on how the course of history might have been altered if a particular historical event had had a different outcome
- alternative society — a society or social group that espouses values different from those of the established social order.
- aluminium hydroxide — a white crystalline powder derived from bauxite and used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics, aluminium and its salts, and in dyeing. Formula: Al(OH)3 or Al2O3.3H2O
- ambassador-at-large — an ambassador with special duties who may be sent to more than one government
- american book award — any of several awards given annually since 1980 to an author whose book is judged the best in its category: administered by the Association of American Publishers. Abbreviation: ABA, A.B.A.
- american directoire — a style of American furniture making and related crafts from c1805 to c1815, corresponding to the French Directoire and English Regency styles.
- american revolution — a sequence of actions by American colonists from 1763 to 1775 protesting British domination and culminating in the Revolutionary War
- american smoke tree — a small tree, Cotinus obovatus, of the cashew family, of the central southern U.S., having yellowish flowers and clusters of fleshy fruit with silky plumes.
- ammonium bifluoride — a white, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous solid, NH 4 HF 2 , used chiefly for cleaning and sterilizing brewing and dairy equipment.
- anaerobic digestion — the conversion of biodegradable waste matter into compost in the absence of oxygen
- analytical geometry — the branch of geometry that uses algebraic notation and analysis to locate a geometric point in terms of a coordinate system; coordinate geometry
- anarcho-syndicalism — syndicalism.
- anarcho-syndicalist — syndicalism.
- androuet du cerceau — Androuet [ahn-droo-e] /ɑ̃ druˈɛ/ (Show IPA), Androuet du Cerceau.
- angels-on-horseback — a savoury of oysters wrapped in bacon slices and served on toast
- angioneurotic edema — swelling that occurs just beneath the surface of the skin or mucous membranes.
- angle of depression — depression (def 11).
- angle of reflection — the angle that a beam of reflected radiation makes with the normal to a surface at the point of reflection
- angle of refraction — the angle that a refracted beam of radiation makes with the normal to the surface between two media at the point of refraction
- anno urbis conditae — in a (specified) year from the founding of the city: the ancient Romans reckoned dates from Rome's founding, c. 753 b.c.
- answerphone message — a pre-recorded message that is left on an answering machine, usually inviting callers to leave a message
- anterograde amnesia — amnesia caused by brain damage in which the memory loss relates to events occurring after the damage
- anthropic principle — the cosmological theory that the presence of life in the universe limits the ways in which the very early universe could have evolved
- anthropocentrically — regarding the human being as the central fact of the universe.
- anthropomorphically — ascribing human form or attributes to a being or thing not human, especially to a deity.
- anti-comintern pact — a pact formed in 1936, based on agreements between Germany and Japan to oppose communism and the Third International: Italy and Spain subsequently became signatories.
- anti-prohibitionist — a person who favors or advocates prohibition.
- anticholinesterases — Plural form of anticholinesterase.
- anticipatory breach — a declaration by one party to a contract that it does not intend to fulfil its obligations to the second party, who can then accept this declaration and choose not to be bound by the contract
- antimony trisulfide — a black or orange-red crystalline compound, Sb2S3, used as a pigment, in pyrotechnics and matches, for fireproofing fabrics and paper, etc.
- antoine louis barye — Antoine Louis [ahn-twan lwee] /ɑ̃ˈtwan lwi/ (Show IPA), 1795–1875, French sculptor and painter.
- apollonius of perga — ?261–?190 bc, Greek mathematician, remembered for his treatise on conic sections
- appetitive behavior — activity that increases the likelihood of satisfying a specific need, as restless searching for food by a hungry predator (distinguished from consummatory behavior).
- application program — a computer program that is written and designed for a specific need or purpose
- appointments bureau — an office responsible for filling appointments
- apres moi le deluge — after me the deluge
- arbitration service — a service which provides an impartial referee to settle disputes