18-letter words containing a, c, o, u
- small-claims court — a special court established to handle small claims or debts, usually without the services of lawyers.
- sodium bicarbonate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, in powder or granules, NaHCO 3 , usually prepared by the reaction of soda ash with carbon dioxide or obtained from the intermediate product of the Solvay process by purification: used chiefly in the manufacture of sodium salts, baking powder, and beverages, as a laboratory reagent, as a fire extinguisher, and in medicine as an antacid.
- sodium thiocyanate — a white powder or colorless, deliquescent crystals, NaSCN, used chiefly in organic synthesis and in medicine in the treatment of hypertension.
- soft touch sealing — Soft touch sealing is a copolymer seal for a tank, with characteristics designed for softness, used instead of a metal seal to help avoid fire when sparks are generated.
- sound spectrograph — an electronic device for recording a sound spectogram.
- south saskatchewan — a river in W Canada, flowing E from S Alberta and joining the North Saskatchewan River to form the Saskatchewan River. 865 miles (1392 km) long.
- southern cameroons — German Kamerun. a region in W Africa: a German protectorate 1884–1919; divided in 1919 into British and French mandates.
- spackling compound — spackle
- spaghetti junction — an interchange, usually between motorways, in which there are a large number of underpasses and overpasses and intersecting roads used by a large volume of high-speed traffic
- spanish succession — War of thea war (1701-14) between European powers disputing the succession to the Spanish throne
- special prosecutor — (formerly) an independent counsel.
- statutory sick pay — the pay an employee is legally entitled to when sick
- store launch event — A store launch event is a special event, which publicizes the opening of a new store and at which discounts and free samples may be offered.
- structural formula — a chemical formula showing the linkage of the atoms in a molecule diagrammatically, as H–O–H.
- structural geology — the branch of geology dealing with the structure and distribution of the rocks that make up the crust of the earth. Also called tectonics. Compare structure (def 7a).
- sub-classification — to arrange in subclasses.
- subatomic particle — physics:
- subordinate clause — a clause that modifies the principal clause or some part of it or that serves a noun function in the principal clause, as when she arrived in the sentence I was there when she arrived or that she has arrived in the sentence I doubt that she has arrived.
- subsidiary company — a company whose controlling interest is owned by another company.
- 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
- superior vena cava — See under vena cava.
- supporting actress — an actress playing a supporting role
- surface-to-surface — (of a missile, message, etc.) capable of traveling from a base on the surface of the earth to a target also on the surface.
- surveyor's compass — an instrument used by surveyors for measuring azimuths.
- take out insurance — take out insurance against something
- teacher evaluation — the process of vetting teachers to maintain teaching standards
- technical knockout — the termination of a bout by the referee when it is the judgment of the attending physician, a boxer's seconds, or the referee that a boxer cannot continue fighting without sustaining severe or disabling injury. Abbreviation: TKO, T.K.O.
- tele-communication — Sometimes, telecommunication. (used with a singular verb) the transmission of information, as words, sounds, or images, usually over great distances, in the form of electromagnetic signals, as by telegraph, telephone, radio, or television.
- telecommunications — Sometimes, telecommunication. (used with a singular verb) the transmission of information, as words, sounds, or images, usually over great distances, in the form of electromagnetic signals, as by telegraph, telephone, radio, or television.
- tertiary education — education, following secondary education at a school, at a college or university
- the black mountain — a mountain range in S Wales, in E Carmarthenshire and W Powys. Highest peak: Carmarthen Van, 802 m (2632 ft)
- the south atlantic — the part of the Atlantic Ocean that lies to the south of the equator
- theater of cruelty — a form of surrealist theater originated by Antonin Artaud and emphasizing the cruelty of human existence by portraying sadistic acts and intense suffering.
- theatre of cruelty — a type of theatre advocated by Antonin Artaud in Le Théâtre et son double that seeks to communicate to its audience a sense of pain, suffering, and evil, using gesture, movement, sound, and symbolism rather than language
- theodore gericault — (Jean Louis André) Théodore [zhahn lwee ahn-drey tey-aw-dawr] /ʒɑ̃ lwi ɑ̃ˈdreɪ teɪ ɔˈdɔr/ (Show IPA), 1791–1824, French painter.
- thermonuclear bomb — hydrogen bomb.
- thioarsenious acid — any of a group of hypothetical acids, H3AsS3, HAsS2, and H4As2S5, known only in the forms of their salts
- thiosulphuric acid — an unstable acid known only in solutions and in the form of its salts. Formula: H2S2O3
- to be caught short — If you are caught short or are taken short, you feel a sudden strong need to urinate, especially when you cannot easily find a toilet.
- to cut the mustard — If someone does not cut the mustard, their work or their performance is not as good as it should be or as good as it is expected to be.
- to hold your peace — If you hold or keep your peace, you do not speak, even though there is something you want or ought to say.
- to meet your match — If you meet your match, you find that you are competing or fighting against someone who you cannot beat because they are as good as you, or better than you.
- 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.
- touch-in-goal line — either of the two touchlines at each end of the field between the goal line and the dead-ball line.
- turn one's back on — the rear part of the human body, extending from the neck to the lower end of the spine.
- ulcerative colitis — chronic ulceration in the large intestine, characterized by painful abdominal cramps and profuse diarrhea containing pus, blood, and mucus.
- ultralow frequency — an electromagnetic wave with a frequency between 300 and 3000 hertz. Abbreviation: ULF, ulf.
- ultrasonic testing — the scanning of material with an ultrasonic beam, during which reflections from faults in the material can be detected: a powerful nondestructive test method
- ultrasonic welding — the use of high-energy vibration of ultrasonic frequency to produce a weld between two components which are held in close contact