17-letter words containing y, a, f
- make the dust fly — earth or other matter in fine, dry particles.
- manufacturability — The condition of being manufacturable.
- maternity benefit — government allowance
- mayflower compact — an agreement to establish a government, entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower on November 11, 1620.
- mental deficiency — mental retardation
- method of payment — cash, credit card, cheque, etc.
- methyltransferase — any of a class of enzymes that catalyze the transfer of methyl groups from one molecule to another.
- monarch butterfly — a large, deep-orange butterfly, Danaus plexippus, having black and white markings, the larvae of which feed on the leaves of milkweed.
- money-market fund — a mutual fund that invests in the money market.
- munitions factory — a factory where munitions are made
- natural frequency — the frequency at which a system vibrates when set in free vibration
- nightshade family — the plant family Solanaceae, characterized by herbaceous plants, trees, shrubs, and vines having alternate, simple or pinnate leaves, conspicuous flowers, and fruit in the form of a berry or capsule, and including belladonna, eggplant, nightshade, peppers of the genus Capsicum, petunia, potato, tobacco, and tomato.
- odour of sanctity — sanctimoniousness
- off-site facility — An off-site facility is a facility which is not at the main industrial or commercial site.
- off-year election — (in the US) an election held in a year when a presidential election does not take place
- office by example — (language) (OBE) A sequel to QBE, described in publications by Moshe Zloof of IBM in the early 1980s but apparently never implemented.
- one of these days — at some future time
- one-parent family — A one-parent family is a family that consists of one parent and his or her children living together.
- out of harm's way — If someone or something is out of harm's way, they are in a safe place away from danger or from the possibility of being damaged.
- paratyphoid fever — Also called paratyphoid fever. an infectious disease, similar in some of its symptoms to typhoid fever but usually milder, caused by any of several bacilli of the genus Salmonella other than S. typhi.
- past life therapy — a form of hypnosis or meditation based on the belief that an individual's present problems are rooted in events that occurred before birth in this life
- peacock butterfly — a European nymphalid butterfly, Inachis io, having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
- phenylformic acid — benzoic acid.
- photofluorography — photography of images produced by a fluoroscopic examination, used in x-ray examination of the lungs of large groups of people.
- play with oneself — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- power of attorney — a written document given by one person or party to another authorizing the latter to act for the former.
- prelingually deaf — deaf from birth or having acquired deafness before learning to speak
- professional army — an army of trained soldiers
- proficiency badge — an insignia or device granted by the Girl Scouts and worn especially on a uniform to indicate special achievement.
- pyrosulfuric acid — a strong, crystalline acid, H2S2O7, prepared commercially as a heavy, oily, fuming liquid: used in making explosives and dyes, as a sulfating agent, etc.
- reference library — A reference library is a library that contains books which you can look at in the library itself but which you cannot borrow.
- refractory period — a short period after a nerve or muscle cell fires during which the cell cannot respond to additional stimulation.
- rift valley fever — a highly infectious viral disease of humans and animals, transmitted by mosquitoes and other insects, occurring in Africa and characterized in humans by headache, fever, eye discomfort, and muscle aches, progressing in some cases to encephalitis, blindness, or internal bleeding.
- rough puff pastry — a rich flaky pastry made with butter and used for pie-crusts, flans, etc
- 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
- san francisco bay — a bay in W California: the harbor of San Francisco; connected with the Pacific by the Golden Gate strait. 50 miles (80 km) long; 3–12 miles (5–19 km) wide.
- sanitary landfill — landfill.
- self-belay device — (in climbing) a device used to pay out a safety rope as required
- sister of charity — a member of one of several congregations of sisters founded in 1634 by St. Vincent de Paul.
- spatial frequency — the measure of fine detail in an optical image in terms of cycles per millimetre
- statue of liberty — a large copper statue, on Liberty Island, in New York harbor, depicting a woman holding a burning torch: designed by F. A. Bartholdi and presented to the U.S. by France; unveiled 1886.
- statutory offense — a wrong punishable under a statute, rather than at common law.
- 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.
- suffice it to say — Suffice it to say or suffice to say is used at the beginning of a statement to indicate that what you are saying is obvious, or that you will only give a short explanation.
- take years off sb — If you say that something such as an experience or a way of dressing has taken years off someone, you mean that it has made them look or feel much younger.
- the factory floor — all the workers in a factory
- the olympic flame — the flame that is symbolically lit at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia and transported by relay to the place where the Olympic Games are to be held. It is used to ignite a fire in a cauldron that will burn throughout the Games
- to drag your feet — If you drag your feet or drag your heels, you delay doing something or do it very slowly because you do not want to do it.