15-letter words containing d
- antidevelopment — (of a group) opposed to development
- antieducational — opposing the provision of knowledge
- antifederalists — Plural form of antifederalist.
- antitraditional — opposed to or acting with disregard for tradition
- anybody's guess — a person of some importance: If you're anybody, you'll receive an invitation.
- aphrodite terra — a large plateau region that stretches approximately halfway around the middle latitude of Venus.
- apollo asteroid — one of a number of asteroids whose orbits cross that of the earth.
- apostles' creed — a concise statement of Christian beliefs dating from about 500 ad, traditionally ascribed to the Apostles
- appendicularian — of or relating to a family of molluscs (Appendicularia) characterized by their long tail appendages
- apple-pie order — perfect order or condition
- approved school — In Britain in the past, an approved school was a boarding school where young people could be sent to stay if they had been found guilty of a crime.
- arc de triomphe — the triumphal arch in Paris begun by Napoleon I to commemorate his victories of 1805–6 and completed in 1836
- archibald prize — an annual prize awarded by the Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales since 1921, for outstanding contributions to art, letters, science, and politics
- argyll and bute — a council area in W Scotland on the Atlantic Ocean: in 1975 the historical counties of Argyllshire and Bute became part of Strathclyde region; in 1996 they were reinstated as a single unitary authority. Argyll and Bute is mountainous and includes the islands of Bute, Mull, Islay, and Jura. Administrative centre: Lochgilphead. Pop: 91 300 (2003 est). Area: 6930 sq km (2676 sq miles)
- armaments depot — a store for armaments
- around the bend — to force (an object, especially a long or thin one) from a straight form into a curved or angular one, or from a curved or angular form into some different form: to bend an iron rod into a hoop.
- around the horn — (thrown) from third base to second to first in trying for a double play
- arrest judgment — to stay proceedings after a verdict, on the grounds of error or possible error
- arrondissements — Plural form of arrondissement.
- arts and crafts — decorative handicraft and design, esp that of the Arts and Crafts movement, in late nineteenth-century Britain, which sought to revive medieval craftsmanship
- as good as gold — excellent; very good indeed
- ascending colon — the first portion of the colon, beginning at the cecum in the lower right abdominal cavity and continuing upward along the right posterior abdominal wall to approximately the lower ribs.
- ascending scale — a scale that is rising in pitch
- asclepiadaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Asclepiadaceae, a family of mostly tropical and subtropical flowering plants, including the milkweed and swallowwort, having pollen in the form of a waxy mass (pollinium): now usually regarded as a subfamily of the Apocynaceae
- ascribed status — the social position assigned to a person on the basis of kinship, ethnic group, sex, etc.
- assistant judge — a person who assists a judge in their work or who is not yet fully qualified as a judge
- assisted living — Assisted living is a type of housing specially designed for people who need help in their everyday lives, but who do not need specialist nursing care. In assisted living facilities, residents live in independent rooms or apartments, but receive help with day-to-day activities, for example bathing, dressing, preparing meals, and taking their medicines.
- assured tenancy — an agreement between a government-approved body such as a housing association and a tenant for occupation of a newly-built house or flat at an agreed market rent, under which the tenant has security of tenure
- astrodynamicist — a person who studies astrodynamics
- at death's door — If you say that someone is at death's door, you mean they are very ill indeed and likely to die.
- at sb's bidding — If you do something at someone's bidding, you do it because they have asked you to do it.
- at the hands of — If someone experiences a particular kind of treatment, especially unpleasant treatment, at the hands of a person or organization, they receive it from them.
- atlantic ridley — ridley (def 1).
- atlantic-ridley — ridley (def 1).
- attitude survey — a survey of the opinions held by a particular group of people
- audience appeal — the quality of being attractive to an audience
- audience rating — a figure based on statistical sampling indicating what proportion of the total listening and viewing audience tune in to a specific programme or network
- audio equipment — electrical devices used to play or record sound
- audio frequency — a frequency in the range 20 hertz to 20 000 hertz. A sound wave of this frequency would be audible to the human ear
- audio recording — an electronic recording of sound
- auditor general — (in Canada) a federal official responsible for auditing government departments and making an annual report
- audubon society — a North American organization devoted to the conservancy of birds
- auf wiedersehen — goodbye, until we see each other again
- augmented roman — a writing system based on an expanded English alphabet, consisting of 43 characters representing different phonemes of spoken English, used for teaching beginners to read. Abbreviation: I.T.A., i.t.a.
- augmented sixth — an interval greater than a major sixth by a chromatic half step.
- autodestructive — likely to cause one's own destruction
- autodidacticism — any self-directed learning or self-education
- automatic drive — an automotive transmission requiring either very little or no manual shifting of gears.
- autoradiographs — Plural form of autoradiograph.
- autoradiography — the technique or process of making autoradiographs.