17-letter words containing s, e, n, t, r, i
- astral projection — the departure of the astral body from the physical body, in order to travel to the astral plane
- astronomical year — year (def 4b).
- at one's own risk — If you tell someone that they are doing something at their own risk, you are warning them that, if they are harmed, it will be their own responsibility.
- attorneys-in-fact — a person authorized by power of attorney to act on the authorizer's behalf outside a court of law.
- attraction sphere — centrosphere (sense 1)
- audio description — a facility provided for visually impaired people in which a film, television programme, or play is described through audio technology
- australia antigen — an antigen present in the blood of some persons with one form of hepatitis
- australia current — a branch of the South Equatorial Current flowing SW from around Fiji to the E coast of Australia and then S along the coast.
- australian kelpie — one of an Australian breed of medium-sized sheepherding dogs having a short, harsh, straight coat in a combination of colors that can include black, red, tan, fawn, chocolate, or smoke blue, probably developed by crossbreeding between the border collie and dingo.
- australian salute — a movement of the hand and arm made to brush flies away from one's face
- australopithecine — any of various extinct apelike primates of the genus Australopithecus and related genera, remains of which have been discovered in southern and E Africa. Some species are estimated to be over 4.5 million years old
- authoritativeness — having due authority; having the sanction or weight of authority: an authoritative opinion.
- axis of ordinates — y-axis (def 1).
- axis-of-ordinates — y-axis (def 1).
- back on the rails — If something is back on the rails, it is beginning to be successful again after a period when it almost failed.
- bacteriorhodopsin — a purple protein containing retinal and found in the plasma membrane of certain bacteria (genus Halobacterium): it directly supplies electrochemical energy from sunlight
- barrel distortion — distortion of an image produced by an optical system that causes straight lines at image margins to bulge outwards
- base lending rate — a minimum interest rate on which financial institutions base the rates they use for lending
- baseboard heating — a heating system by pipes, through which steam or hot water circulates, near the base of the walls of rooms
- be sitting pretty — If you say that someone is sitting pretty, you mean that they are in a good, safe, or comfortable position.
- beat one's brains — to try hard to remember, understand, or solve something
- beer and skittles — enjoyment or pleasure
- before one's time — prematurely
- bell-hanger's bit — a bit for drilling small holes through studs or the like.
- belted kingfisher — a grayish-blue, North American kingfisher, Ceryle alcyon, having a white breast marked with a grayish-blue band.
- between two fires — between two attacks; shot at, criticized, etc. from both sides
- bioelectrogenesis — the production of electricity by organisms.
- bowel obstruction — a blockage in the bowel
- british cameroons — a former British trust territory of West Africa
- british-cameroons — German Kamerun. a region in W Africa: a German protectorate 1884–1919; divided in 1919 into British and French mandates.
- budget resolution — a resolution adopted by both houses of the U.S. Congress setting forth, reaffirming, or revising the budget for the U.S. government for a fiscal year.
- bursting strength — the capacity of a thing or substance to resist change when under pressure.
- buyers' inflation — inflation in which rising demand results in a rise in prices.
- caesarean section — A Caesarean or a Caesarean section is an operation in which a baby is lifted out of a woman's womb through an opening cut in her abdomen.
- campus university — a university in which the buildings, often including shops and cafés, are all on one site
- cancer specialist — a medical professional who specializes in the treatment or study of malignant growths or tumours
- carbon offsetting — a program in which a company, country, etc., reduces or offsets its carbon emissions through the funding of activities and projects that improve the environment: Carbon offsetting does not always have a quantifiable impact on the planet.
- cartesian product — the set of all ordered pairs of members of two given sets. The product A × B is the set of all pairs <a, b> where a is a member of A and b is a member of B
- casting the runes — (jargon) What a guru does when you ask him or her to run a particular program because it never works for anyone else; especially used when nobody can ever see what the guru is doing different from what J. Random Luser does. Compare incantation, runes, examining the entrails; also see the AI koan about Tom Knight.
- castle in the air — a hope or desire unlikely to be realized; daydream
- cavalier servente — a lover; suitor.
- celestial horizon — the line or circle that forms the apparent boundary between earth and sky.
- cellulose nitrate — a compound made by treating cellulose with nitric and sulphuric acids, used in plastics, lacquers, and explosives: a nitrogen-containing ester of cellulose
- character witness — a witness in a trial who testifies to the accused's general good character rather than providing evidence about the specific offence which has led to him or her being on trial
- characterisations — Plural form of characterisation.
- characterizations — portrayal; description: the actor's characterization of a politician.
- chest compression — Chest compression is the act of applying pressure to someone's chest in order to help blood flow through the heart in an emergency situation.
- chicken drumstick — a chicken leg, considered as food
- chiltern hundreds — (in Britain) short for Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds; a nominal office that an MP applies for in order to resign his seat
- chinese artichoke — a hairy plant, Stachys affinis, of China and Japan, having numerous small, white, edible tubers.