17-letter words containing r, a, d, o, m
- downward mobility — movement from one social level to a higher one (upward mobility) or a lower one (downward mobility) as by changing jobs or marrying.
- downwardly mobile — See under vertical mobility (def 1).
- downwardly-mobile — See under vertical mobility (def 1).
- dramatis personae — (used with a plural verb) the characters in a play.
- drilling platform — a structure, either fixed to the sea bed or mobile, which supports the machinery and equipment (the drilling rig), together with the stores, required for digging an offshore oil well
- electrocardiogram — A record or display of a person’s heartbeat produced by electrocardiography.
- embroidery thread — a thread used for embroidery
- emissions trading — the buying and selling of allowances for pollutant emissions
- examination board — an organization that sets and corrects exams
- export department — the department of a business concerned with the export of the business's goods or services
- first commandment — “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”: first of the Ten Commandments.
- fractal dimension — (mathematics) A common type of fractal dimension is the Hausdorff-Besicovich Dimension, but there are several different ways of computing fractal dimension. Fractal dimension can be calculated by taking the limit of the quotient of the log change in object size and the log change in measurement scale, as the measurement scale approaches zero. The differences come in what is exactly meant by "object size" and what is meant by "measurement scale" and how to get an average number out of many different parts of a geometrical object. Fractal dimensions quantify the static *geometry* of an object. For example, consider a straight line. Now blow up the line by a factor of two. The line is now twice as long as before. Log 2 / Log 2 = 1, corresponding to dimension 1. Consider a square. Now blow up the square by a factor of two. The square is now 4 times as large as before (i.e. 4 original squares can be placed on the original square). Log 4 / log 2 = 2, corresponding to dimension 2 for the square. Consider a snowflake curve formed by repeatedly replacing ___ with _/\_, where each of the 4 new lines is 1/3 the length of the old line. Blowing up the snowflake curve by a factor of 3 results in a snowflake curve 4 times as large (one of the old snowflake curves can be placed on each of the 4 segments _/\_). Log 4 / log 3 = 1.261... Since the dimension 1.261 is larger than the dimension 1 of the lines making up the curve, the snowflake curve is a fractal. [sci.fractals FAQ].
- frames per second — (unit) (fps) The unit of measurement of the frame rate of a moving image.
- free-body diagram — A free-body diagram is a diagram of a structure in which all supports are replaced by forces.
- french somaliland — a former name of Djibouti (def 1).
- from hand to hand — the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb.
- from head to foot — all over one's body
- front-end payment — a payment required or incurred in advance of a project in order to get it under way
- garden mignonette — a Mediterranean plant, Resida odorata, which has spikes of small greenish-white flowers with prominent anthers
- general admission — an admission charge for unreserved seats at a theatrical performance, sports event, etc.
- gomez de la serna — Ramón [rah-mawn] /rɑˈmɔn/ (Show IPA), ("Ramón") 1888–1963, Spanish novelist, dramatist, biographer, and critic.
- good-time charlie — an affable, sociable, pleasure-loving man.
- grandmother clock — a pendulum clock similar to a grandfather's clock but shorter.
- great-grandmother — a grandmother of one's father or mother.
- gulf war syndrome — a group of symptoms occurring in some Gulf War veterans, most commonly including headache and memory loss, muscle pain, skin disorders, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and gastrointestinal and respiratory ailments, possibly caused by exposure to chemical weapons, vaccines, infectious diseases, or other factors.
- gustavo a. madero — official name of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
- haemorrhoidectomy — surgical removal of haemorrhoids
- hairy-tailed mole — a blackish North American mole, Parascalops breweri, having a short, hairy tail.
- hardware platform — a group of compatible computers that can run the same software.
- hermaphrodite rig — jackass rig.
- heterochlamydeous — (of a plant) having a perianth consisting of distinct sepals and petals
- 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.
- hoare powerdomain — powerdomain
- 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.
- homeland security — national defence
- hydrothermal vent — an opening on the floor of the sea from which hot, mineral-rich solutions issue. Compare vent1 (def 2).
- hydroxytryptamine — (organic compound) Any hydroxy derivative of tryptamine, but especially 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin).
- hypophrygian mode — a plagal church mode represented on the white keys of a keyboard instrument by an ascending scale from B to B, with the final on E.
- ideogrammatically — In terms of, or by means of, ideograms.
- immediate version — child version
- indicator diagram — a graphical or other representation of the cyclic variations of pressure and volume within the cylinder of a reciprocating engine obtained by using an indicator
- intercommunicated — Simple past tense and past participle of intercommunicate.
- 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.
- it doesn't matter — You say 'it doesn't matter' to tell someone who is apologizing to you that you are not angry or upset, and that they should not worry.
- job advertisement — an announcement in a newspaper, on television, or on a poster about a post of employment
- judgment of paris — the decision by Paris to award Aphrodite the golden apple of discord competed for by Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera.
- kawasaki syndrome — a syndrome, usually afflicting children, characterized by high fever, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, rashes, irritated eyes and mucous membranes, etc. with possible damage to the cardiovascular system
- keyboard commando — (messaging) A bulletin board user who posts authoritatively on military or combat topics, but who has never served in uniform or heard a shot fired in anger. A poseur.
- ladder tournament — a tournament in which the entrants are listed by name and rank, advancement being by means of challenging and defeating an entrant ranked one or two places higher.