17-letter words containing an
- to win hands down — If you win hands down, you win very easily.
- tongue-and-groove — the technique of making a joint between two boards by means of a tongue along the edge of one board that fits into a groove along the edge of the other board
- torricellian tube — a vertical glass tube partly evacuated and partly filled with mercury, the height of which is used as a measure of atmospheric pressure
- track maintenance — the process of maintaining and repairing railway tracks
- trading standards — consumer organization
- traffic policeman — a policeman controlling traffic, esp while stationed at an intersection, or enforcing traffic regulations
- trailing geranium — an ivy-leaved variety of geranium, Pelargonium peltatum
- trans-mississippi — across or beyond the Mississippi River.
- transatlantically — crossing or reaching across the Atlantic: a transatlantic liner.
- transcendentalism — transcendental character, thought, or language.
- transcendentalist — transcendental character, thought, or language.
- transcendentalize — to cause to become transcendent.
- transdermal patch — a small piece of material used to mend a tear or break, to cover a hole, or to strengthen a weak place: patches at the elbows of a sports jacket.
- transfer function — The transfer function of a circuit is the ratio of the response to the input.
- transferable vote — a vote that is transferred to a second candidate indicated by the voter if the first is eliminated from the ballot
- transformationist — transformist.
- transignification — (in the Eucharist) a change in the significance of the bread and wine to symbolize the body and blood of Christ.
- transition region — a thin and very irregular layer of the sun's atmosphere that separates the hot corona from the much cooler chromosphere.
- transitory action — an action that can be brought in any country regardless of where it originated
- transmission line — a system of conductors, as coaxial cable, a wave guide, or a pair of parallel wires, used to transmit signals.
- transonic barrier — sound barrier.
- transverse engine — an engine which is fitted side-to-side across the axis of a vehicle
- travancore-cochin — a former Indian state that was a merger of Travancore and Cochin, two former princely states of India, and which became part of Kerala state in 1956
- triangular matrix — a square matrix in which either all the entries above the principal diagonal, or all the entries below the principal diagonal, are zero.
- trifoliate orange — a spiny, Chinese orange tree, Poncirus trifoliata, used as a stock in grafting and for hedges.
- trigger mechanism — a physiological or psychological process caused by a stimulus and resulting in a usually severe reaction.
- trobriand islands — a group of coral islands in the Solomon Sea, north of the E part of New Guinea: part of Papua New Guinea. Area: about 440 sq km (170 sq miles)
- try one's hand at — to attempt (to do something), esp. for the first time
- two-toed anteater — silky anteater.
- tympanic membrane — eardrum.
- tyrant flycatcher — flycatcher (def 2).
- ultramicrobalance — a balance for weighing precisely, to a hundredth of a microgram or less, minute quantities of material.
- understandability — capable of being understood; comprehensible.
- uniformitarianism — supporting, conforming to, or derived from a theory or doctrine about uniformity, especially on the subject of geology.
- unsubstantiatable — to establish by proof or competent evidence: to substantiate a charge.
- up/raise the ante — If you up the ante or raise the ante, you increase your demands when you are in dispute or fighting for something.
- urban development — the development or improvement of an urban area by building
- urban exploration — a recreational activity in which people explore derelict urban structures such as abandoned sewers or underground railways or attempt to access areas which are closed to the public such as the roofs of skyscrapers
- used-car salesman — a person who sells used cars
- utopian socialism — (sometimes initial capital letter) an economic system based on the premise that if capital voluntarily surrendered its ownership of the means of production to the state or the workers, unemployment and poverty would be abolished.
- vacant possession — ownership of an unoccupied house or property, any previous owner or tenant having departed
- vale of glamorgan — a county borough of S Wales, created in 1996 from parts of South Glamorgan and Mid Glamorgan. Administrative centre: Barry. Pop: 121 200 (2003 est). Area: 295 sq km (114 sq miles)
- valetudinarianism — the state, condition, or habits of a valetudinarian.
- valsalva maneuver — a forced expiratory effort against a closed glottis that decreases intrathoracic pressure, hampering venous return to the heart, and that can be used to inflate the Eustachian tubes and adjust pressure in the middle ear.
- van diemen's land — former name of Tasmania.
- vanilla-flavoured — having been flavoured with vanilla extract or essence
- vanity publishing — the practice of the author of a book paying all or most of the costs of its publication
- vegetable tanning — the act or process of tanning hide by the infusion of plant extract.
- vehicle insurance — Vehicle insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles.
- verkhoyansk range — a mountain range in the Sakha Republic, in E Siberia, Russia. About 600 miles (970 km) long.