17-letter words containing s, i, o, n
- southern rhodesia — a former name (until 1964) of Zimbabwe (def 1).
- southern studfish — See under studfish.
- southern triangle — the constellation Triangulum Australe.
- spaghettification — the theoretical stretching of an object as it encounters extreme differences in gravitational forces, especially those associated with a black hole.
- span of attention — attention span.
- spatial summation — the act or process of summing.
- speak one's piece — a separate or limited portion or quantity of something: a piece of land; a piece of chocolate.
- special constable — a person recruited for temporary or occasional police duties, esp in time of emergency
- special education — education that is modified or particularized for those with singular needs, as disabled or maladjusted people, slow learners, or gifted children.
- special schooling — the system of educating children with special needs in schools designed to meet their needs
- speech correction — the reeducation of speech habits that deviate from accepted speech standards.
- speed restriction — the maximum speed allowed for road vehicles, trains, or other vehicles
- spenserian sonnet — a sonnet employing the rhyme scheme abab, bcbc, cdcd, ee.
- sperrin mountains — a mountain range in NW Northern Ireland
- spherical polygon — a closed figure formed by arcs of great circles on a spherical surface.
- spin one's wheels — a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery.
- spiny-headed worm — any of a small group of endoparasites of the phylum Acanthocephala, as larvae parasitic in insects and crustaceans and as adults in various vertebrates.
- spit in the ocean — a variety of poker in which four cards are dealt face down to each player and one card, forming the fifth for all hands, is dealt face up in the center of the table, the exposed card and others of its denomination being wild cards.
- split keyboarding — the act or practice of editing data from one terminal on another terminal
- split one's sides — to laugh very heartily
- split personality — multiple personality.
- spondylolisthesis — the forward displacement of a vertebra.
- spoonbill catfish — flathead catfish.
- spot-illustration — a rounded mark or stain made by foreign matter, as mud, blood, paint, ink, etc.; a blot or speck.
- spotted sandpiper — a North American sandpiper, Actitis macularia, that has brownish-gray upper parts and white underparts, and is spotted with black in the summer.
- spread your wings — if you spread your wings, you do something new and rather difficult or move to a new place, because you feel more confident in your abilities than you used to and you want to gain wider experience
- spring cankerworm — the striped, green caterpillar of any of several geometrid moths: a foliage pest of various fruit and shade trees, as Paleacrita vernata (spring cankerworm) and Alsophila pometaria (fall cankerworm)
- squash vine borer — the larva of a clearwing moth, Melittia satyriniformis, that bores into the stems of squash and related plants.
- sri international — (company) One of the world's largest contract research firms. Founded in 1946 in conjuction with Stanford University as the Stanford Research Institute, they later became fully independent and were incorporated as a non-profit organisation under U.S. and California laws. SRI does research and development in many areas, independently and for hire. They produce and sell reports on the independent research. Address: Menlo Park, California, USA; Cambridge, UK.
- staff association — an association of employees that performs some of the functions of a trade union, such as representing its members in discussions with the management, and may also have other social and professional purposes
- stand-up comedian — performer: tells jokes
- standard function — a subprogram provided by a translator that carries out a task, for example the computation of a mathematical function, such as sine, square root, etc
- stannous chloride — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, SnCl 2 ⋅2H 2 O, used chiefly as a reducing and tinning agent, and as a mordant in dyeing with cochineal.
- stannous fluoride — a white, crystalline powder, SnF 2 , slightly soluble in water: used as a source of fluorine in the prevention of dental caries, especially as a toothpaste additive.
- stationary engine — an engine mounted in a fixed position, as one used for driving generators, compressors, etc.
- statutory meeting — company shareholders' discussion
- stay of execution — If you are given a stay of execution, you are legally allowed to delay obeying an order of a court of law.
- steamboat springs — a town in NW Colorado: ski resort.
- steamship company — a company which has a fleet of steamships
- steering geometry — Steering geometry is the geometric arrangement of the parts of a steering system, and the value of the lengths and angles within it.
- stellar evolution — the sequence of changes that occurs in a star as it ages
- stenothermophilic — growing best within a narrow temperature range.
- stir one's stumps — to move or become active
- stolen generation — Aboriginal children removed from their families and placed in institutions or fostered by White families between 1910 and 1970
- storm in a teacup — a violent fuss or disturbance over a trivial matter
- strait of otranto — a stretch of water between SE Italy and Albania, connecting the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea; of strategic importance during World War I
- stress relaxation — Stress relaxation is a gradual reduction in stress with time at constant strain.
- stretch limousine — a limousine that has been lengthened to provide extra seating accommodation and more legroom
- stretching course — (in brickwork) a course of stretchers.
- 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