17-letter words containing t, e, n, s, a
- retained earnings — income not paid out as shares
- retrocessionaires — a reinsurance company that accepts or takes a retrocession.
- revascularization — the restoration of the blood circulation of an organ or area, achieved by unblocking obstructed or disrupted blood vessels or by surgically implanting replacements.
- rhode island bent — a European pasture grass, Agrostis tenuis, naturalized in North America, having red flower clusters.
- rhodope mountains — a mountain range in SE Europe, in the Balkan Peninsula extending along the border between Bulgaria and Greece. Highest peak: Golyam Perelik (Bulgaria), 2191 m (7188 ft)
- right parenthesis — (character) ")". ASCII character 41. Common names: right paren; right parenthesis; right; close; thesis ("(" = paren); close paren; close parenthesis; right parenthesis; right banana. Rare: already ("(" = so); rparen; ITU-T: closing parenthesis; close round bracket, right round bracket, INTERCAL: wane ("(" = wax); unparenthisey ("(" = parenthisey); right ear. Paired with left parenthesis.
- roseate spoonbill — a tropical New World spoonbill, Ajaia ajaja, having rose-colored plumage and a bare head.
- rubber-base paint — latex paint.
- russell, bertrand — Bertrand Russell
- russian turkestan — a vast region in W and central Asia, E of the Caspian Sea: includes territory in the S central part of Xinjiang province in China (Eastern Turkestan or Chinese Turkestan) a strip of N Afghanistan, and the area (Russian Turkestan) comprising the republics of Kazakhstan, Kirghizia (Kyrgyzstan), Tadzhikistan (Tajikistan), Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
- sacred roman rota — rota1 (def 3).
- safety in numbers — If you say that there is safety in numbers, you mean that you are safer doing something if there are a lot of people doing it rather than doing it alone.
- safety inspection — an inspection of a place carried out to ensure that it is safe and not dangerous
- safety precaution — a precaution that is taken in order to ensure that something is safe and not dangerous
- saint agnes's eve — the night of January 20, superstitiously regarded as a time when a young woman who performs certain rites is likely to dream of her future husband.
- saint bonaventure — Saint ("the Seraphic Doctor") 1221–74, Italian scholastic theologian.
- saint christopher — Saint, died a.d. c250, Christian martyr.
- saint croix river — Also called Santa Cruz. a U.S. island in the N Lesser Antilles: the largest of the Virgin Islands. 82 sq. mi. (212 sq. km).
- saint elmo's fire — corona discharge.
- saint kitts-nevis — a twin-island state in the Leeward Islands, in the E West Indies, consisting of the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis: formerly a British colony and member of the West Indies Associated States; gained independence 1983. 104 sq. mi. (269 sq. km). Capital: Basseterre.
- salt negotiations — international diplomatic discussions carried out in connection with SALT
- salt-rising bread — a kind of bread leavened with a fermented mixture of salted milk, cornmeal, flour, sugar, and soda.
- san andreas fault — an active strike-slip fault in W United States, extending from San Francisco to S California and forming the on-land portion of the western margin of the North American Plate.
- san quentin quail — jailbait.
- sanctimoniousness — making a hypocritical show of religious devotion, piety, righteousness, etc.: They resented his sanctimonious comments on immorality in America.
- sandro botticelli — Sandro [san-droh,, sahn-;; Italian sahn-draw] /ˈsæn droʊ,, ˈsɑn-;; Italian ˈsɑn drɔ/ (Show IPA), (Alessandro di Mariano dei Filipepi) 1444?–1510, Italian painter.
- sanitation worker — a person employed to collect, haul away, and dispose of garbage.
- satellite station — a radio or television station that receives programs from another station and rebroadcasts at a different wavelength.
- save one's breath — the air inhaled and exhaled in respiration.
- sawed-off shotgun — rifle with a short barrel
- say the unsayable — to express an opinion thought to be too controversial to mention
- scarlet firethorn — a Eurasian evergreen, thorny shrub, Pyracantha coccinea, of the rose family, having white, hairy flower clusters and bright red berries.
- scarlet lightning — scarlet lychnis.
- scarlet pimpernel — a plant belonging to the genus Anagallis, of the primrose family, especially A. arvensis (scarlet pimpernel) having scarlet or white flowers that close at the approach of bad weather.
- scentless mayweed — a similar and related plant, Matricaria maritima, with scentless leaves
- schiff-s--reagent — a solution of rosaniline and sulfurous acid in water, used to test for the presence of aldehydes.
- school attendance — a measure of the number of children who attend school and the amount of time they are present
- sea grant college — a college or university doing research on marine resources under the U.S. National Sea Grant College and Program Act of 1966.
- sea-island cotton — a long-staple cotton, Gossypium barbadense, raised originally in the Sea Islands and now grown chiefly in the West Indies.
- seaman apprentice — a noncommissioned enlisted person ranking above seaman recruit and below seaman. Abbreviation: SA.
- seat-of-the-pants — using or based on experience, instinct, or guesswork: a seat-of-the-pants management style.
- second derivative — the derivative of the derivative of a function: Acceleration is the second derivative of distance with respect to time.
- second generation — being the second generation of a family to be born in a particular country: the oldest son of second-generation Americans.
- second lieutenant — an Army, Air Force, or Marine officer of the lowest commissioned rank. Compare ensign (def 4).
- second-generation — being the second generation of a family to be born in a particular country: the oldest son of second-generation Americans.
- secondary battery — storage battery.
- secondary boycott — a boycott by union members against their employer in order to induce the employer to bring pressure on another company involved in a labor dispute with the union.
- secondary contact — communication or relationship between people characterized by impersonal and detached interest on the part of those involved.
- secondary product — a product that is not the main product of an industry; a by-product
- secondary quality — one of the qualities attributed by the mind to an object perceived, such as color, temperature, or taste.