17-letter words that end in s
- seine-saint-denis — a department of N central France, in Île-de-France region. Capital: Bobigny. Pop: 1 396 122 (2003 est). Area: 236 sq km (92 sq miles)
- selkirk mountains — a mountain range in SW Canada, in SE British Columbia. Highest peak: Mount Sir Sandford, 3533 m (11 590 ft)
- semimicroanalysis — any analytical method in which the weight of the sample is between 10 and 100 milligrams.
- sensory paralysis — impairment or loss of sensation in a part or area of the body
- sequential access — of or relating to a storage medium, as magnetic tape, in which records must be accessed by reading or writing from the beginning of the file.
- sequential-access — of or relating to a storage medium, as magnetic tape, in which records must be accessed by reading or writing from the beginning of the file.
- settlement houses — the act or state of settling or the state of being settled.
- seven deadly sins — Christianity: worst vices
- shipping articles — articles of agreement.
- shoot one's cuffs — to expose one's shirt cuffs beyond the coat sleeves
- shorten the reins — to take up the reins so that the distance between hand and bit is lessened, in order that the horse may be more collected
- show sb the ropes — If you show someone the ropes, you show them how to do a particular job or task.
- sign of the cross — a movement of the hand to indicate a cross, as from forehead to breast and left shoulder to right or, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, from right shoulder to left.
- similar triangles — triangles that are similar due to the equality of corresponding angles and the proportional similarity of the corresponding sides
- sleeping problems — difficulties in getting to sleep or in staying asleep
- sleeping quarters — the rooms where people sleep in a large building or complex or on a boat etc
- sleeping sickness — Also called African sleeping sickness, African trypanosomiasis. a generally fatal disease, common in parts of Africa, characterized by fever, wasting, and progressive lethargy: caused by a parasitic protozoan, Trypanosoma gambiense or T. rhodesiense, that is carried by a tsetse fly, Glossina palpalis.
- slings and arrows — Slings and arrows are unpleasant things that happen to you and that are not your fault.
- slip-joint pliers — pliers having a sliding joint, permitting the span of the jaws to be adjusted.
- smoke and mirrors — (used with a singular or plural verb) something that distorts or blurs facts, figures, etc., like a magic or conjuring trick; artful deception.
- socratic elenchus — the drawing out of the consequences of a position in order to show them to be contrary to some accepted position
- south sea islands — the islands in the S Pacific that constitute Oceania
- southern sporades — a group of Greek islands in the Aegean, including the Dodecanese, lying off the SW coast of Turkey
- spastic paralysis — a condition in which the muscles affected are marked by tonic spasm and increased tendon reflexes.
- spectrum analysis — the determination of the constitution or condition of bodies and substances by means of the spectra they produce.
- sperrin mountains — a mountain range in NW Northern Ireland
- spin one's wheels — a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery.
- spinal meningitis — infection of spinal membrane
- split one's sides — to laugh very heartily
- spondylolisthesis — the forward displacement of a vertebra.
- sports facilities — places and things for doing sports
- spread your wings — if you spread your wings, you do something new and rather difficult or move to a new place, because you feel more confident in your abilities than you used to and you want to gain wider experience
- squatter's rights — the rights to a property claimed by someone who has occupied it in the owner's absence
- standing expenses — fixed or flat expenses or charges
- stars and stripes — US national flag
- state the obvious — point out sth already evident
- steamboat springs — a town in NW Colorado: ski resort.
- stick to the ribs — to pierce or puncture with something pointed, as a pin, dagger, or spear; stab: to stick one's finger with a needle.
- stir one's stumps — to move or become active
- stymphalian birds — a flock of predacious birds of Arcadia that were driven away and killed by Hercules as one of his labors.
- sudetes mountains — mountain range along the borders of N Czech Republic & SW Poland: highest peak, 5,259 ft (1,603 m)
- sunbury-on-thames — a town in SE England, in N Surrey. Pop: 27 415 (2001)
- superaerodynamics — the branch of aerodynamics that deals with gases at very low densities.
- superstitiousness — of the nature of, characterized by, or proceeding from superstition: superstitious fears.
- suspension points — a group of dots, usually three, used in written material to indicate the omission of a word or words
- swaddling clothes — cloth for wrapping around a baby
- sweating sickness — a febrile epidemic disease that appeared in the 15th and 16th centuries: characterized by profuse sweating and frequently fatal in a few hours.
- sword of damocles — Damocles (def 2).
- synthetic phonics — a method of teaching people to read by training them to pronounce sounds associated with particular letters in isolation and then blend them together
- taconic mountains — a mountain range in SE New York, W Massachusetts, and SW Vermont, a highly eroded part of the Appalachian system. Highest peak, Mount Equinox, in Vermont 3816 feet (1163 meters).