28-letter words containing a, c, o, s, t, e
- rocky mountain spotted fever — an infectious disease characterized by high fever, pains in joints, bones, and muscles, and a cutaneous eruption, caused by rickettsii and transmitted by ticks: first reported in the Rocky Mountain area, but now more widely distributed.
- scanning electron microscope — a device in which the specimen is examined point by point directly in a moving electron beam, and electrons reflected by the specimen are used to form a magnified, three-dimensional image on a television screen. Abbreviation: SEM.
- scared to death scared stiff — If you are scared to death or scared stiff, you are extremely scared.
- second axiom of countability — the property satisfied by a topological space in which the neighborhood system of each point has a base consisting of a countable number of neighborhoods (first axiom of countability) or the property satisfied by a topological space that has a base for its topology consisting of a countable number of subsets of the space (second axiom of countability)
- second law of thermodynamics — any of three principles variously stated in equivalent forms, being the principle that the change of energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the heat transferred minus the work done (first law of thermodynamics) the principle that no cyclic process is possible in which heat is absorbed from a reservoir at a single temperature and converted completely into mechanical work (second law of thermodynamics) and the principle that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in a finite number of operations (third law of thermodynamics)
- secondary sex characteristic — any of a number of manifestations, as development of breasts or beard, muscularity, distribution of fat tissue, and change of pitch in voice, specific to each sex and incipient at puberty but not essential to reproduction.
- semiconservative replication — replication.
- service advertising protocol — (networking) (SAP) A Novell NetWare protocol. SAP follows the spirit of the Xerox Clearinghouse protocol, it permits file, print, and gateway servers to advertise their services and addresses.
- shared-appreciation mortgage — a type of mortgage that carries a smaller down payment or lower interest rate than usual in return for the lender's sharing in the appreciation of the property at some future date, as at the time of its sale. Abbreviation: SAM.
- smooth endoplasmic reticulum — a network of tubular membranes within the cytoplasm of the cell, occurring either with a smooth surface (smooth endoplasmic reticulum) or studded with ribosomes (rough endoplasmic reticulum) involved in the transport of materials.
- software productivity centre — (body) (SPC) A non-profit organisation based in Vancouver, BC, Canada with the mandate to assist software developers to improve their software engineering process.
- special power of appointment — authority to appoint persons from a particular class to take an estate or interest in property
- special theory of relativity — the state or fact of being relative.
- spectral luminous efficiency — a measure of the efficiency of radiation of a given wavelength in producing a visual sensation. It is equal to the ratio of the radiant flux at a standard wavelength to that at the given wavelength when the standard wavelength is chosen so that the maximum value of this ratio is unity
- standard operating procedure — a set of fixed instructions or steps for carrying out usually routine operations. Abbreviation: SOP.
- strictly decreasing function — a function having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is less than the image of the smaller point.
- strictly increasing function — a function having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is greater than the image of the smaller point.
- super video graphics adapter — Super Video Graphics Array
- super video graphics adaptor — Super Video Graphics Array
- supplemental security income — income provided by the U.S. government to needy aged, blind, and disabled persons. Abbreviation: SSI.
- systemic lupus erythematosus — an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the connective tissues, occurring mainly among middle-aged women, chiefly characterized by skin eruptions, joint pain, recurrent pleurisy, and kidney disease. Abbreviation: SLE.
- systems network architecture — (networking) (SNA) IBM's proprietary high level networking protocol standard, used by IBM and IBM compatible mainframes. Also referred to as "Blue Glue", SNA is a bletcherous protocol once widely favoured at commercial shops. The official IBM definition is "that which binds blue boxes together." It may be relevant that Blue Glue is also a 3M product commonly used to hold down carpets in dinosaur pens.
- tannu tuva people's republic — former name of Tuva Autonomous Republic.
- television interface adaptor — (hardware, graphics) (TIA) The graphics chip in the Atari 2600, also used as a sound chip for some arcade game.
- the line of least resistance — If you take the line of least resistance in a situation, you do what is easiest, even though you think that it may not be the right thing to do. In American English, you usually talk about the path of least resistance.
- the medical research council — a government body that uses public funds to finance research in medicine
- the obscene publications act — a group of obscenity laws that determines what can be published in Britain
- the wrong side of the tracks — the unfashionable or poor district or stratum of a community
- through rose-colored glasses — with optimism, esp. undue optimism
- tissue plasminogen activator — an anticlotting enzyme, naturally occurring in small amounts in the blood.
- to come to a screeching halt — (of a motor vehicle) to stop suddenly, causing the brakes or tyres to produce a high-pitched sound
- to give somebody a thick ear — to hit sb on the ear or head
- to know something for a fact — If you say that you know something for a fact, you are emphasizing that you are completely certain that it is true.
- to make a clean breast of it — If you make a clean breast of something, you tell someone the truth about yourself or about something wrong that you have done.
- to set your face against sth — You can say that someone has set their face against something to indicate that they are opposed to it, especially when you want to suggest that they are wrong.
- united states postal service — an independent federal agency created in 1971 to replace the Post Office Department as the division of the federal government responsible for postal services. Abbreviation: USPS.
- very large scale integration — VLSI.
- very large-scale integration — the process of fabricating a few thousand logic gates or more in a single integrated circuit
- wake up and smell the coffee — to face up to reality, especially in an unpleasant situation
- windows management interface — (Microsoft, system management) (WMI) Microsoft's implementation of Web-Based Enterprise Management, a DMTF initiative to establish standards for accessing and sharing system management information over an enterprise network.
- with/have sth to your credit — If you already have one or more achievements to your credit, you have achieved them.
- within an inch of one's life — almost to the point of death
- work projects administration — WPA.
- wouldn't be seen/caught dead — If you say that you wouldn't be seen dead or be caught dead in particular clothes, places, or situations, you are expressing strong dislike or disapproval of them.
- you can cut sth with a knife — If you have been in a place where there was a very tense atmosphere, you can say that you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife.
- zeroth law of thermodynamics — the principle that any two systems in thermal equilibrium with a third system are in thermal equilibrium with each other. Compare law of thermodynamics (def 2).