17-letter words containing s, o, m, a, t
- liberal democrats — (in Britain) a political party with centrist policies; established in 1988 as the Social and Liberal Democrats when the Liberal Party merged with the Social Democratic Party; renamed Liberal Democrats in 1989
- load displacement — the weight, in long tons, of a cargo vessel loaded so that the summer load line touches the surface of the water.
- luminous exitance — the ability of a surface to emit light expressed as the luminous flux per unit area at a specified point on the surface
- lymphadenopathies — Plural form of lymphadenopathy.
- macro-linguistics — a field of study concerned with language in its broadest sense and including cultural and behavioral features associated with language.
- macroinstructions — Plural form of macroinstruction.
- magnetic constant — the permeability of free space, which has the value 4π × 10–7 henry per metre
- magnetic roasting — roasting of a nonmagnetic ore to render it magnetic so that it can be separated from gangue by means of a magnetic field.
- magnetoelasticity — the phenomenon, consisting of a change in magnetic properties, exhibited by a ferromagnetic material to which stress is applied.
- magnetoresistance — a change in the electrical resistance of a material upon exposure to a magnetic field.
- maintained school — a school financially supported by the state
- maintenance costs — the costs associated with keeping a road, building, vehicle, or machine in good condition by regularly checking it and repairing it when necessary
- majority decision — a decision supported by more than half the people involved
- make conversation — If you make conversation, you talk to someone in order to be polite and not because you really want to.
- make inroads into — to start to use up the supply of something
- make light of sth — If you make light of something, you treat it as though it is not serious or important, when in fact it is.
- make noises about — to give indications of one's intentions
- make sense of sth — When you make sense of something, you succeed in understanding it.
- make something of — to find a use for
- make the worst of — to be pessimistic about
- maladministration — to administer or manage badly or inefficiently: The mayor was a bungler who maladministered the city budget.
- man on the street — man in the street.
- management course — a course provided by an educational establishment such as a university, which teaches skills concerning the management of a company, business, etc
- manchester school — a school of economists in England in the first half of the 19th century, devoted to free trade and the repeal of the Corn Law, led by Richard Cobden and John Bright.
- manifest function — any function of an institution or other social phenomenon that is planned and intentional.
- manitoulin island — an island in N Lake Huron belonging to Canada. 80 miles (130 km) long.
- marital relations — a euphemistic term for sexual intercourse between married partners
- mark of the beast — the mark put on the forehead of those who worship the beast, the symbol of opposition to God.
- mass spectrograph — a mass spectroscope for recording a mass spectrum on a photographic plate.
- mass spectrometer — a device for identifying the kinds of particles present in a given substance: the particles are ionized and beamed through an electromagnetic field and the manner in which they are deflected is indicative of their mass and, thus, their identity.
- mass spectroscope — an instrument used to determine the masses of small, electrically charged particles.
- mass spectroscopy — an instrument used to determine the masses of small, electrically charged particles.
- master of science — a master's degree given usually in a specific branch of the natural sciences, mathematics, or technology.
- maxwell equations — equations developed by James Clerk Maxwell (1831–79) upon which classical electromagnetic theory is based
- mean piston speed — The mean piston speed is the distance traveled by a piston in a specified amount of time.
- meat and potatoes — If you refer to the meat and potatoes of something, you mean its most basic, simple, and essential parts.
- meat-and-potatoes — fundamental; down-to-earth; basic: What are the meat-and-potatoes issues of the election?
- meiji restoration — revolution in Japanese life and government that occurred after the accession of Emperor Mutsuhito (1867), characterized by the downfall of the shogun and feudalism and the creation of a modern state
- mensural notation — a system of musical notation of the 13th to the late 16th centuries, marked by the use of note symbols such as the longa and brevis, the absence of bar lines and ties, and the equivalence in value of one note to either two or three of the next smaller degree.
- mercy otis warren — Earl, 1891–1974, U.S. lawyer and political leader: chief justice of the U.S. 1953–69.
- messier catalogue — a catalogue of 103 nonstellar objects, such as nebulae and galaxies, prepared in 1781–86. An object is referred to by its number in this catalogue, for example the Andromeda Galaxy is referred to as M31
- metallofullerenes — Plural form of metallofullerene.
- metalloproteinase — (enzyme) Any of several proteinases that have a metal atom (often zinc) at their active centre.
- methyl isocyanate — Chemistry. a highly toxic, flammable, colorless liquid, CH 3 NCO, used as an intermediate in the manufacture of pesticides: in 1984, the accidental release of a cloud of this gas in Bhopal, India, killed more than 1700 people and injured over 200,000.
- mexican stand-off — A Mexican stand-off is a situation in which neither of the people or groups in a conflict or dispute can win and neither wants to give in first.
- microdistillation — the distillation of minute quantities of material.
- microencapsulated — Encapsulated using microencapsulation.
- micromanipulators — Plural form of micromanipulator.
- minas de riotinto — a town in SW Spain: copper mines.
- minister of state — (in the British Parliament) a minister, usually below cabinet rank, appointed to assist a senior minister with heavy responsibilities