17-letter words containing r, u, s, m, a
- textual criticism — lower criticism.
- the major leagues — the two main leagues of professional baseball clubs in the U.S., the National League and the American League
- the new jerusalem — the de facto capital of Israel (recognition of this has been withheld by the United Nations), situated in the Judaean hills: became capital of the Hebrew kingdom after its capture by David around 1000 bc; destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 bc; taken by the Romans in 63 bc; devastated in 70 ad and 135 ad during the Jewish rebellions against Rome; fell to the Arabs in 637 and to the Seljuk Turks in 1071; ruled by Crusaders from 1099 to 1187 and by the Egyptians and Turks until conquered by the British (1917); centre of the British mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, when the Arabs took the old city and the Jews held the new city; unified after the Six Day War (1967) under the Israelis; the holy city of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Pop: 693 200 (2003 est)
- thermal diffusion — the separation of constituents, often isotopes, of a fluid under the influence of a temperature gradient.
- three-course meal — A three-course meal is a meal that consists of three parts served one after the other.
- tolpuddle martyrs — six farm workers sentenced to transportation for seven years in 1834 for administering an unlawful oath to form a trade union in the village of Tolpuddle, Dorset
- trucial sheikdoms — an independent federation in E Arabia, formed in 1971, now comprising seven emirates on the S coast (formerly, Pirate Coast or Trucial Coast) of the Persian Gulf, formerly under British protection: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah (joined 1972), and Fujairah. About 32,300 sq. mi. (83,657 sq. km). Capital: Abu Dhabi. Abbreviation: U.A.E.
- ultimate strength — the quantity of the utmost tensile, compressive, or shearing stress that a given unit area of a certain material is expected to bear without failing.
- ultrametamorphism — metamorphism during which the temperature of a rock exceeds its melting point.
- uncircumscribable — to draw a line around; encircle: to circumscribe a city on a map.
- uncomfortableness — causing discomfort or distress; painful; irritating.
- undercompensation — to compensate or pay less than is fair, customary, or expected.
- uniformitarianism — supporting, conforming to, or derived from a theory or doctrine about uniformity, especially on the subject of geology.
- universal grammar — a grammar that attempts to establish the properties and constraints common to all possible human languages.
- unprofessionalism — not professional; not pertaining to or characteristic of a profession.
- urogenital system — the urinary tract and reproductive organs
- used-car salesman — a person who sells used cars
- user brain damage — (humour) (UBD) A description (usually abbreviated) used to close a trouble report obviously due to utter cluelessness on the user's part. Compare pilot error; opposite: PBD; see also brain-damaged, PEBCAK.
- vacuum aspiration — menstrual extraction.
- valetudinarianism — the state, condition, or habits of a valetudinarian.
- valsalva maneuver — a forced expiratory effort against a closed glottis that decreases intrathoracic pressure, hampering venous return to the heart, and that can be used to inflate the Eustachian tubes and adjust pressure in the middle ear.
- varix lymphaticus — a similar condition affecting an artery or lymphatic vessel
- vestibular system — the sensory mechanism in the inner ear that detects movement of the head and helps to control balance
- visually impaired — (of a person) having reduced vision so severe as to constitute a handicap.
- waist measurement — a measure of the circumference of the narrowest part of a person's waist
- warm-up exercises — preparatory exercises done to warm up the muscles
- weston-super-mare — a town and resort in SW England, in North Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, on the Bristol Channel. Pop: 78 044 (2001)
- wimshurst machine — a device for the production of electric charge by electrostatic induction, consisting of two oppositely rotating glass or mica disks carrying metal strips upon which charges are induced and subsequently removed by contact with metallic combs.
- yellow journalism — a color like that of egg yolk, ripe lemons, etc.; the primary color between green and orange in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 570 and 590 nm.