17-letter words containing s, a, b, i, n
- sinbad the sailor — a merchant in The Arabian Nights who makes seven adventurous voyages
- special constable — a person recruited for temporary or occasional police duties, esp in time of emergency
- split keyboarding — the act or practice of editing data from one terminal on another terminal
- spoonbill catfish — flathead catfish.
- squash vine borer — the larva of a clearwing moth, Melittia satyriniformis, that bores into the stems of squash and related plants.
- steamboat springs — a town in NW Colorado: ski resort.
- stymphalian birds — a flock of predacious birds of Arcadia that were driven away and killed by Hercules as one of his labors.
- subclavian artery — either of a pair of arteries, one on each side of the body, that carry the main supply of blood to the arms.
- subclavian groove — either of two grooves in the first rib, one for the main artery (subclavian artery) and the other for the main vein (subclavian vein) of the arm
- subordinated debt — a debt that an unsecured creditor can only claim, in the event of a liquidation, after the claims of secured creditors have been paid
- subscription rate — the price charged for a subscription
- substantive right — a right, as life, liberty, or property, recognized for its own sake and as part of the natural legal order of society.
- surrender to bail — to present oneself at court at the appointed time after having been on bail
- symbolic language — a specialized language dependent upon the use of symbols for communication and created for the purpose of achieving greater exactitude, as in symbolic logic or mathematics.
- synovial membrane — anatomy: connective tissue
- take some beating — to be difficult to improve upon
- the carboniferous — the Carboniferous period or rock system
- the establishment — a group or class of people having institutional authority within a society, esp those who control the civil service, the government, the armed forces, and the Church: usually identified with a conservative outlook
- the-invisible-man — a novel (1897) by H.G. Wells.
- tibetan highlands — Tibet, Plateau of.
- to read sb's mind — If you can read someone's mind, you know what they are thinking without them saying anything.
- transonic barrier — sound barrier.
- trobriand islands — a group of coral islands in the Solomon Sea, north of the E part of New Guinea: part of Papua New Guinea. Area: about 440 sq km (170 sq miles)
- turbinado (sugar) — a partially refined, granulated, pale-brown sugar obtained by washing raw sugar in a centrifuge until most of the molasses is removed
- uncircumscribable — to draw a line around; encircle: to circumscribe a city on a map.
- uncle tom's cabin — an antislavery novel (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
- understandability — capable of being understood; comprehensible.
- undistinguishable — to mark off as different (often followed by from or by): He was distinguished from the other boys by his height.
- universal algebra — (logic) The model theory of first-order equational logic.
- unpredictableness — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- unsubstantiatable — to establish by proof or competent evidence: to substantiate a charge.
- 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.
- vanity publishing — the practice of the author of a book paying all or most of the costs of its publication
- ventura publisher — Corel VENTURA
- visible radiation — electromagnetic radiation that causes the sensation of sight; light. It has wavelengths between about 380 and 780 nanometres
- wang laboratories — (body) Computer manufacturer, known for their office automation products and the Wang PC. Quarterly sales $208M, profits $3M (Aug 1994).
- war establishment — the full wartime complement of men, equipment, and vehicles of a military unit
- wedding breakfast — meal served at wedding reception
- westminster abbey — a Gothic church in London, England.
- wheatstone bridge — a circuit for measuring an unknown resistance by comparing it with known resistances.
- with guns blazing — If you come out with guns blazing or with all guns blazing, you put all your effort and energy into trying to achieve something.
- working substance — a substance, usually a fluid, that undergoes changes in pressure, temperature, volume, or form as part of a process for accomplishing work.