18-letter words containing a, c, e, s, p, r
- resistance plasmid — any of a group of bacterial plasmids carrying genetic information that provide resistance to antibiotic drugs: some resistance plasmids are able to transfer themselves, and hence resistance, during conjugation
- resurrection plant — a desert plant, Selaginella lepidophylla, occurring from Texas to South America, having stems that curl inward when dry.
- rhodes scholarship — one of a number of scholarships at Oxford University, established by the will of Cecil Rhodes, for selected students (Rhodes scholars) from the British Commonwealth and the United States.
- sampling frequency — sample rate
- saskatchewan party — (in Canada) a Saskatchewan political party formed by former members of the provincial Progressive Conservative and Liberal Parties
- scholarship holder — a person who, because of academic merit, receives financial aid for their studies
- scissors-and-paste — designating or of a piece of writing that has been assembled from a variety of sources rather than by original research, often in a hasty or uninspired way
- scripting language — a language that is used to write scripts, or executable sections of code that automate tasks.
- secondary syphilis — the second stage of syphilis, characterized by eruptions of the skin and mucous membrane.
- self-deprecatingly — in a self-deprecating manner
- self-preoccupation — the state of being preoccupied.
- self-tapping screw — a screw designed to tap its corresponding female thread as it is driven.
- september massacre — (in the French Revolution) the massacre of royalists and other inmates of the prisons of Paris, September 2–6, 1792.
- septic sore throat — an acute, toxic, streptococcus infection of the throat producing fever, tonsillitis, and other serious effects.
- service department — a repair shop
- shipping container — a large, strong container, usually of metal, used to store goods in during shipment
- sierra blanca peak — a mountain in S New Mexico: highest peak in the Sacramento Mountains. 11,997 feet (3651 meters).
- software backplane — (programming, tool) A CASE framework from Atherton.
- sound spectrograph — an electronic device for recording a sound spectogram.
- special prosecutor — (formerly) an independent counsel.
- special relativity — the state or fact of being relative.
- specialist teacher — a teacher with expertise in working with children with special educational needs, such as dyslexia
- specimen signature — a signature to be compared to an original signature in order to verify someone's identity
- specrate_base_fp92 — (benchmark) A variant of SPECrate_fp92 that reports "baseline" results, using stricter run rules.
- spectroheliography — the process of obtaining an image of the sun in light of a particular wavelength, such as calcium or hydrogen, showing the distribution of the element over the surface and in the solar atmosphere, using a spectroheliograph
- spectropolarimeter — an instrument for determining the extent to which plane-polarized light of various wavelengths is rotated by certain solutions, consisting of a combination of a spectroscope and a polarimeter.
- spectropolariscope — an instrument combining the functions of a spectroscope with those of a polariscope.
- sperry corporation — (company) The company which merged with the Burroughs Corporation to form Unisys Corporation. Divisions included Sperry Univac, Sperry Flight Systems, and others. Some of these were sold off after the merger.
- spherical geometry — the branch of geometry that deals with figures on spherical surfaces.
- spherical triangle — a triangle formed by arcs of great circles of a sphere.
- spotted flycatcher — a European woodland songbird, Muscicapa striata, with a greyish-brown streaked plumage: family Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers)
- subatomic particle — physics:
- summary proceeding — a mode of trial authorized by statute to be held before a judge without the usual full hearing.
- super royal octavo — a book size, 63⁄4 by 101⁄4 inches
- superciliary ridge — browridge.
- superior vena cava — See under vena cava.
- supporting actress — an actress playing a supporting role
- surgical appliance — a specialized device used by somebody to relieve a particular medical condition
- surveyor's compass — an instrument used by surveyors for measuring azimuths.
- sweptwing aircraft — an aircraft which has wings that are swept (usually) backwards
- sympathetic strike — sympathy strike.
- sympathetic string — a thin wire string, as in various obsolete musical instruments, designed to vibrate sympathetically with the bowed or plucked strings to reinforce the sound.
- symphony orchestra — a large orchestra composed of wind, string, and percussion instruments and organized to perform symphonic compositions.
- the baptist church — any of various Protestant churches that believe in the baptism of believers
- the practicalities — the real facts or details of a situation, as opposed to its theoretical aspects
- threatened species — a species likely, in the near future, to become an endangered species within all or much of its range.
- to all appearances — apparently
- to cast aspersions — If you cast aspersions on someone or something, you suggest that they are not very good in some way.
- to scrape a living — If you say that someone scrapes a living or scratches a living, you mean that they manage to earn enough to live on, but it is very difficult. In American English, you say they scrape out a living or scratch out a living.
- to watch your step — If someone tells you to watch your step, they are warning you to be careful about how you behave or what you say so that you do not get into trouble.