18-letter words containing a, c, e, s, p
- 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)
- st. james's palace — a palace in London, England: the royal residence from the time of Henry VIII until the accession of Victoria.
- status epilepticus — a condition in which repeated epileptic seizures occur without the patient gaining consciousness between them. If untreated for a prolonged period it can lead to long-term disability or death
- stepping-off place — jumping-off place (def 2).
- 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.
- systematic phoneme — a phonological unit in generative phonology representing an underlying form that takes into account the relationship between phonological patterns and morphological variation, as the unit underlying the second vowel in both derive and derivative.
- television company — a company that broadcasts programmes by television
- 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 lick into shape — If you lick, knock, or whip someone or something into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve them so that they are in the condition that you want them to be in.
- to pick and choose — If you pick and choose, you carefully choose only things that you really want and reject the others.
- 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.
- transverse process — a process that projects from the sides of a vertebra.
- under-compensation — to compensate or pay less than is fair, customary, or expected.
- universal coupling — a coupling between rotating shafts set at an angle to one another, allowing for rotation in three planes.
- upper middle class — wealthy, highly-educated people
- valle de la pascua — a city in N Venezuela.
- venture capitalist — funds invested or available for investment in a new or unproven business enterprise.
- video compact disc — (storage) (VCD) A storage format used for film distribution.
- warehouse capacity — the amount of storage space in a warehouse
- wattless component — Electricity. reactive component.
- welland ship canal — a ship canal in S Canada, in Ontario, connecting Lakes Erie and Ontario: 8 locks. 25 miles (40 km) long.
- wernicke's aphasia — a type of aphasia caused by a lesion in Wernicke's area of the brain and characterized by grammatical but more or less meaningless speech and an apparent inability to comprehend speech.
- x-ray spectrometer — a spectrometer using x-rays to activate the inner electrons of an atom in order to separate and identify the chemical constituents of a substance and their concentrations.
- x-ray spectrometry — the use of an x-ray spectrometer.