17-letter words containing y, a, u
- bouncebackability — the ability to recover after a setback, esp in sport
- budgetary control — a system of managing a business by applying a financial value to each forecast activity. Actual performance is subsequently compared with the estimates
- budgetary deficit — the amount by which government expenditure exceeds income from taxation, customs duties, etc, in any one fiscal year
- bury the tomahawk — to stop fighting; make peace
- butterfly bandage — a butterfly-shaped strip of adhesive medical tape used, when stitches are not required, to keep a deep cut or incision tightly closed while it heals
- butterfly diagram — a graphical butterfly-shaped representation of the sunspot density on the solar disc in the 11-year sunspot cycle
- buyers' inflation — inflation in which rising demand results in a rise in prices.
- buys ballot's law — a law stating that if an observer stands with his back to the wind in the N hemisphere, atmospheric pressure is lower on his left, and vice versa in the S hemisphere
- buys-ballot's law — the law stating that if one stands with one's back to the wind, in the Northern Hemisphere the atmospheric pressure will be lower on one's left and in the Southern Hemisphere it will be lower on one's right: descriptive of the relationship of horizontal winds to atmospheric pressure.
- cabbage butterfly — a common white butterfly (Pieris rapae) whose green larvae feed upon cabbage and related plants
- calcium cyanamide — a white crystalline compound formed by heating calcium carbide with nitrogen. It is important in the fixation of nitrogen and can be hydrolysed to ammonia or used as a fertilizer. Formula: CaCN2
- calcium hydroxide — a white crystalline slightly soluble alkali with many uses, esp in cement, water softening, and the neutralization of acid soils. Formula: Ca(OH)2
- camberwell beauty — a nymphalid butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa, of temperate regions, having dark purple wings with cream-yellow borders
- campus university — a university in which the buildings, often including shops and cafés, are all on one site
- capacity audience — a situation when the maximum number of people possible are watching an event
- case-study method — Also called case-study method [keys-stuhd-ee] /ˈkeɪsˈstʌd i/ (Show IPA). the teaching or elucidation of a subject or issue through analysis and discussion of actual cases, as in business education.
- cast/run your eye — If you cast your eye or run your eye over something, you look at it or read it quickly.
- causality paradox — the hypothetical cause-and-effect of time travel and making changes in the past that would affect current actions.
- chadless keypunch — (hardware) A card punch which cut little U-shapes in punched cards, rather than punching out a circle or rectangle. The U's made a hole when folded back. One of the Jargon File's correspondents believed that the term "chad" derived from the Chadless keypunch. Obviously, if the Chadless keypunch didn't make them, then the stuff that other keypunches made had to be "chad". The assertion that the keypunch was named after its inventor is not supported by any record in US or UK patents or surname references.
- chincoteague pony — a wild pony found on certain islands off the Virginia coast, apparently descended from Moorish ponies shipwrecked in this vicinity in the 16th century.
- churchyard beetle — a blackish nocturnal ground beetle, Blaps mucronata, found in cellars and similar places
- circular velocity — the velocity at which a body must move in order to maintain an orbit at the outer edge of the earth's atmosphere.
- circumlocutionary — a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea.
- circumstantiality — the quality of being circumstantial
- common of turbary — (in England) the legal right to cut peat for fuel on a common
- computer literacy — basic, nontechnical knowledge about computers and how to use them; familiarity and experience with computers, software, and computer systems.
- configurationally — With regard to a configuration.
- constitutionality — In a particular political system, the constitutionality of a law or action is the fact that it is allowed by the constitution.
- contemporaneously — living or occurring during the same period of time; contemporary.
- coral honeysuckle — trumpet honeysuckle.
- counterparty risk — the risk that a person who is a party to a contract will default on their obligations under that contract
- country gentleman — a rich man with an estate in the country
- court of chancery — (in the US) a court of equity
- court-of-chancery — chancery (def 4a).
- courtship display — behaviour that is aimed at attracting a mate
- cover your tracks — If someone covers their tracks, they hide or destroy evidence of their identity or their actions, because they want to keep them secret.
- cytomegaloviruses — Plural form of cytomegalovirus.
- delay instruction — delayed control-transfer
- deoxyribonuclease — DNase.
- desaix de veygoux — Louis Charles Antoine [lwee sharl ahn-twan] /lwi ʃærl ɑ̃ˈtwan/ (Show IPA), 1768–1800, French general.
- dibutyl phthalate — a colorless oily liquid, C 16 H 22 O 4 , insoluble in water, used as a solvent, insect repellent, and plasticizer.
- disability clause — a clause in a life-insurance policy providing for waiver of premium and sometimes payment of monthly income if the policyholder becomes totally and permanently disabled.
- disadvantageously — In a disadvantageous manner.
- double pair royal — a set of four cards of the same denomination, worth 12 points.
- duality principle — the principle that a mathematical duality exists under certain conditions.
- dwarf huckleberry — tangleberry.
- dynamic execution — (processor) A combination of techniques - multiple branch prediction, data flow analysis and speculative execution. Intel implemented Dynamic Execution in the P6 after analysing the execution of billions of lines of code.
- dynamic insurance — Dynamic insurance is a type of insurance coverage where the policyholder can choose to increase benefits and premiums by a fixed percentage each year to offset the effects of inflation.
- electrometallurgy — metallurgy involving the use of electric-arc furnaces, electrolysis, and other electrical operations
- entrepreneurially — In an entrepreneurial manner.