17-letter words containing r, v, a
- bell-shaped curve — bell curve
- bill of adventure — a certificate made out by a merchant to show that goods handled by him and his agents are the property of another party at whose risk the dealing is done
- binocular rivalry — the phenomenon whereby one is unable to see simultaneously different images presented one to each eye; usually in some areas of the eye the image presented to the left eye is seen, in others that presented to the right eye
- black-water fever — a form of babesiosis seen in cattle, deer, bison, water buffalo, African buffalo, and reindeer; characterized by fever, depression, jaundice, dark red-black discolouration of the urine, anaemia, and death
- blue-headed vireo — solitary vireo.
- breakdown service — a service that provides assistance to motorists who break down
- breakdown voltage — the minimum applied voltage that would cause a given insulator or electrode to break down.
- brighton and hove — a city and unitary authority in S England, in East Sussex. Pop: 251 500 (2003 est). Area: 72 sq km (28 sq miles)
- broadview heights — a town in N Ohio.
- brownian movement — random movement of microscopic particles suspended in a fluid, caused by bombardment of the particles by molecules of the fluid. First observed in 1827, it provided strong evidence in support of the kinetic theory of molecules
- california privet — a privet, Ligustrum ovalifolium, of the olive family, native to Japan, having glossy, oval leaves and long clusters of white flowers, widely used for hedges in the U.S.
- campus university — a university in which the buildings, often including shops and cafés, are all on one site
- canine parvovirus — a highly contagious viral disease of dogs characterized by vomiting, haemorrhagic diarrhoea, depression, and, in severe cases, death
- cantilever bridge — a bridge having spans that are constructed as cantilevers and often a suspended span or spans, each end of which rests on one end of a cantilever span
- cat scratch fever — a disorder characterized by fever and swelling of the lymph glands, caused by a viral infection resulting from the scratch or bite of a cat.
- cat-scratch fever — a disease of humans caused by an organism, Bartonella henselae, usually resulting from a scratch by a cat and characterized by lymph node enlargement
- cattle tick fever — Texas fever
- cavalier servente — a lover; suitor.
- cellulose varnish — a varnish made from cellulose nitrate, used as a protective sealing film
- center of gravity — The center of gravity of an object is a point in it. If this point is above the base of the object, it stays stable, rather than falling over.
- centre of gravity — The centre of gravity of an object is a point in it. If this point is above the base of the object, it stays stable, rather than falling over.
- chancery division — (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice
- chapter and verse — If you say that someone gives you chapter and verse on a particular subject, you are emphasizing that they tell you every detail about it.
- 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.
- civil libertarian — a person who actively supports or works for the protection or expansion of civil liberties.
- civil partnership — A civil partnership is a legal relationship between two people of the same sex that is similar to marriage.
- cloverleaf aerial — a type of aerial, having three or four similar coplanar loops arranged symmetrically around an axis, to which in-phase signals are fed
- coastguard vessel — a ship used by the coastguard
- code of behaviour — the generally accepted rules governing how people behave
- cognitive therapy — a form of psychotherapy in which the patient is encouraged to change the way he or sees the world and himself or herself: used particularly to treat depression
- coitus reservatus — the deliberate delaying or avoidance of orgasm during intercourse
- collaborativeness — Quality of being collaborative.
- combine harvester — A combine harvester is a large machine which is used on farms to cut, sort, and clean grain.
- compound interval — an interval that is greater than an octave, as a ninth or a thirteenth.
- congo-brazzaville — a republic in W Central Africa: formerly the French colony of Middle Congo, part of French Equatorial Africa, it became independent in 1960; consists mostly of equatorial forest, with savanna and extensive swamps; drained chiefly by the Rivers Congo and Ubangi. Official language: French. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: franc. Capital: Brazzaville. Pop: 4 492 689 (2013 est). Area: 342 000 sq km (132 018 sq miles)
- conservation area — In Britain, a conservation area is an area where birds and animals are protected.
- consumer advocate — consumerist (def 1).
- consumer-advocate — Also called consumer advocate. a person who is dedicated to protecting and promoting the welfare and rights of consumers.
- contradistinctive — distinction by opposition or contrast: plants and animals in contradistinction to humans.
- controversialness — The state or quality of being controversial.
- convection heater — A convection heater is a heater that heats a room by means of hot air.
- conversationalist — A good conversationalist is someone who talks about interesting things when they have conversations.
- converter reactor — a nuclear reactor for converting one fuel into another, esp one that transforms fertile material into fissionable material
- cooperative party — (in Great Britain) a political party supporting the cooperative movement and linked with the Labour Party: founded in 1917
- cooperative store — a retail store owned and managed by consumer-customers who supply the capital and share in the profits by patronage dividends.
- corporate village — an area close to the workplace where many everyday facilities are provided for a company's workers
- corpus cavernosum — either of two masses of erectile tissue in the penis of mammals
- counterinitiative — An initiative opposing another initiative.
- 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.
- cracking severity — Cracking severity is the temperature used in a cracking process to yield a product, higher temperatures being used to produce ethane and benzene, and lower temperatures to produce propene and liquid products.