17-letter words containing r, e, n, t, a
- rub the wrong way — to subject the surface of (a thing or person) to pressure and friction, as in cleaning, smoothing, polishing, coating, massaging, or soothing: to rub a table top with wax polish; to rub the entire back area.
- rubber plantation — an estate in a tropical country where rubber trees are grown on a large scale
- rubber-base paint — latex paint.
- run a temperature — If you are running a temperature or if you have a temperature, your temperature is higher than it usually is.
- rural development — social or economic activities or initiatives designed to improve the standard of living in areas far away from large towns or cities
- russell, bertrand — Bertrand Russell
- russian turkestan — a vast region in W and central Asia, E of the Caspian Sea: includes territory in the S central part of Xinjiang province in China (Eastern Turkestan or Chinese Turkestan) a strip of N Afghanistan, and the area (Russian Turkestan) comprising the republics of Kazakhstan, Kirghizia (Kyrgyzstan), Tadzhikistan (Tajikistan), Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
- sacred roman rota — rota1 (def 3).
- safety in numbers — If you say that there is safety in numbers, you mean that you are safer doing something if there are a lot of people doing it rather than doing it alone.
- safety precaution — a precaution that is taken in order to ensure that something is safe and not dangerous
- saint bonaventure — Saint ("the Seraphic Doctor") 1221–74, Italian scholastic theologian.
- saint christopher — Saint, died a.d. c250, Christian martyr.
- saint croix river — Also called Santa Cruz. a U.S. island in the N Lesser Antilles: the largest of the Virgin Islands. 82 sq. mi. (212 sq. km).
- saint elmo's fire — corona discharge.
- salt-rising bread — a kind of bread leavened with a fermented mixture of salted milk, cornmeal, flour, sugar, and soda.
- san andreas fault — an active strike-slip fault in W United States, extending from San Francisco to S California and forming the on-land portion of the western margin of the North American Plate.
- sandro botticelli — Sandro [san-droh,, sahn-;; Italian sahn-draw] /ˈsæn droʊ,, ˈsɑn-;; Italian ˈsɑn drɔ/ (Show IPA), (Alessandro di Mariano dei Filipepi) 1444?–1510, Italian painter.
- sanitation worker — a person employed to collect, haul away, and dispose of garbage.
- save one's breath — the air inhaled and exhaled in respiration.
- scarlet firethorn — a Eurasian evergreen, thorny shrub, Pyracantha coccinea, of the rose family, having white, hairy flower clusters and bright red berries.
- scarlet lightning — scarlet lychnis.
- scarlet pimpernel — a plant belonging to the genus Anagallis, of the primrose family, especially A. arvensis (scarlet pimpernel) having scarlet or white flowers that close at the approach of bad weather.
- schiff-s--reagent — a solution of rosaniline and sulfurous acid in water, used to test for the presence of aldehydes.
- sea grant college — a college or university doing research on marine resources under the U.S. National Sea Grant College and Program Act of 1966.
- seaman apprentice — a noncommissioned enlisted person ranking above seaman recruit and below seaman. Abbreviation: SA.
- second derivative — the derivative of the derivative of a function: Acceleration is the second derivative of distance with respect to time.
- second generation — being the second generation of a family to be born in a particular country: the oldest son of second-generation Americans.
- second-generation — being the second generation of a family to be born in a particular country: the oldest son of second-generation Americans.
- secondary battery — storage battery.
- secondary boycott — a boycott by union members against their employer in order to induce the employer to bring pressure on another company involved in a labor dispute with the union.
- secondary contact — communication or relationship between people characterized by impersonal and detached interest on the part of those involved.
- secondary product — a product that is not the main product of an industry; a by-product
- secondary quality — one of the qualities attributed by the mind to an object perceived, such as color, temperature, or taste.
- secretary-general — the head or chief administrative officer of a secretariat.
- self-administered — to manage (affairs, a government, etc.); have executive charge of: to administer the law.
- self-appreciation — gratitude; thankful recognition: They showed their appreciation by giving him a gold watch.
- self-confirmation — the act of confirming.
- self-consecration — the act of setting oneself to a task or vocation without ordination by others or by a religious body.
- self-conservation — the act of conserving; prevention of injury, decay, waste, or loss; preservation: conservation of wildlife; conservation of human rights.
- self-depreciating — self-deprecating.
- self-entertaining — affording entertainment; amusing; diverting: We spent an entertaining evening at the theater.
- self-estrangement — to turn away in feeling or affection; make unfriendly or hostile; alienate the affections of: Their quarrel estranged the two friends.
- self-impregnating — to make pregnant; get with child or young.
- self-perpetuating — continuing oneself in office, rank, etc., beyond the normal limit.
- self-presentation — an act of presenting.
- self-preservation — preservation of oneself from harm or destruction.
- self-purification — a natural process of purifying, as the ability of a body of water to rid itself of pollutants.
- self-renunciation — renunciation of one's own will, interests, etc.
- selkirk mountains — a mountain range in SW Canada, in SE British Columbia. Highest peak: Mount Sir Sandford, 3533 m (11 590 ft)
- semi-experimental — pertaining to, derived from, or founded on experiment: an experimental science.