16-letter words containing v, a, l, i, s
- sparking voltage — the minimum voltage required to produce a spark across a given spark gap.
- special delivery — (in the U.S. Postal Service) delivery of mail outside the regularly scheduled hours, by a special messenger, upon the payment of an extra fee.
- splanchnic nerve — Anatomy. any of several nerves to the viscera and blood vessels of the chest and pelvic areas.
- steam locomotive — a locomotive moved by steam power generated in its own boiler: still in commercial use in nations that have not yet converted entirely to diesel and electric locomotives.
- superserviceable — overly disposed to be of service; officious.
- swedish vallhund — a small sturdy dog of a Swedish breed with a long body and pricked pointed ears
- texas revolution — a revolutionary movement, 1832–36, in which U.S. settlers asserted their independence from Mexico and established the republic of Texas.
- the silver state — the nickname of the US state of Nevada, which comes from the large amount of silver discovered and mined there
- tinnevelly senna — any plant, shrub, or tree belonging to the genus Cassia, of the legume family, having pinnate leaves and large clusters of flowers.
- travel insurance — insurance which covers losses that may be incurred while travelling, such as medical expenses, flight cancellations, lost luggage, etc
- unconversational — of, relating to, or characteristic of conversation: a conversational tone of voice.
- ungava peninsula — a peninsula in NW Ungava region, in N Quebec, in E Canada.
- universalization — to make universal.
- valles marineris — a canyon on Mars, 3100 miles (5000 km) in length, named after the Mariner spacecraft.
- vancouver island — an island of SW Canada, off the SW coast of British Columbia: separated from the Canadian mainland by the Strait of Georgia and Queen Charlotte Sound, and from the US mainland by Juan de Fuca Strait; the largest island off the W coast of North America. Chief town: Victoria. Pop: 706 243 (2001). Area: 32 137 sq km (12 408 sq miles)
- vascular cambium — cambium.
- vaughan williams — Ralph, 1872–1958, English composer.
- vegetable slicer — a device with a sharp blade for slicing vegetables finely;
- velcro fastening — a fastening made of Velcro
- venereal disease — sexually transmitted disease. Abbreviation: VD.
- verruca vulgaris — the common wart.
- vertical tasting — a tasting of different vintages of one particular wine.
- vestibular nerve — the part of the auditory nerve in the inner ear that carries sensory information related to body equilibrium.
- viceregal assent — the formal signing of an act of parliament by a governor general, by which it becomes law
- victorian values — qualities considered to characterize the Victorian period, including enterprise and initiative and the importance of the family
- video journalism — the techniques, methods, etc., of preparing and broadcasting informational, social, political, and other nonfiction subjects via news and documentary programs.
- videodisc player — an electronic device for playing videodiscs through a television set.
- virginia cowslip — a perennial woodland plant (Mertensia virginica) of the borage family, native to E North America and having clusters of blue or purple, bell-shaped flowers
- visual interface — (tool, text) (vi) /V-I/, /vi:/, *never* /siks/ A screen editor crufted together by Bill Joy for an early BSD release. vi became the de facto standard Unix editor and a nearly undisputed hacker favourite outside of MIT until the rise of Emacs after about 1984. It tends to frustrate new users no end, as it will neither take commands while expecting input text nor vice versa, and the default setup provides no indication of which mode the editor is in (one correspondent accordingly reports that he has often heard the editor's name pronounced /vi:l/). Nevertheless it is still widely used (about half the respondents in a 1991 Usenet poll preferred it), and even some Emacs fans resort to it as a mail editor and for small editing jobs (mainly because it starts up faster than the bulkier versions of Emacs). See holy wars.
- visual magnitude — Astronomy. magnitude (def 5a).
- visual-magnitude — size; extent; dimensions: to determine the magnitude of an angle.
- vital statistics — The vital statistics of a population are statistics such as the number of births, deaths, or marriages which take place in it.
- vitruvian scroll — a scroll forming a stylized wave pattern.
- welfare services — services that provide help with people's living conditions and financial problems
- west valley city — city in NC Utah, near Salt Lake City: pop. 109,000