18-letter words containing a, d, i, p, s
- rail rapid transit — a system of rail transit within an urban area that has exclusive right of way either below, above, or on the ground and so is capable of relatively high operating speed. Abbreviation: RRT.
- registered company — a company which has officially registered its business
- reinforced plastic — plastic with fibrous matter, such as carbon fibre, embedded in it to confer additional strength
- 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
- 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.
- safety-deposit box — a lockable metal box or drawer, especially in a bank vault, used for safely storing valuable papers, jewelry, etc.
- saint bernard pass — either of two passes over the Alps: the Great St Bernard Pass 2472 m (8110 ft) high, east of Mont Blanc between Italy and Switzerland, or the Little St Bernard Pass 2157 m (7077 ft) high, south of Mont Blanc between Italy and France
- 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
- seafloor spreading — a process in which new ocean floor is created as molten material from the earth's mantle rises in margins between plates or ridges and spreads out.
- secondary syphilis — the second stage of syphilis, characterized by eruptions of the skin and mucous membrane.
- self-deprecatingly — in a self-deprecating manner
- self-disparagement — the act of disparaging.
- september holidays — a period of time in September when people do not have to go to school, college or work
- service department — a repair shop
- sharp-shinned hawk — a North American hawk, Accipiter striatus, having extremely slender legs, a bluish-gray back, and a white, rusty-barred breast.
- shepherd satellite — a small moon orbiting near a planetary ring, whose gravitational pull helps confine the ring and the ring's extent.
- soda-lime feldspar — plagioclase.
- sodium-vapour lamp — a type of electric lamp consisting of a glass tube containing neon and sodium vapour at low pressure through which an electric current is passed to give an orange light. They are used in street lighting
- solitary sandpiper — a North American sandpiper, Tringa solitaria, of inland wetlands, having a brownish-gray, white-spotted back and whitish underparts.
- southampton island — an island in N Canada, in the Northwest Territories at the entrance to Hudson Bay. 19,100 sq. mi. (49,470 sq. km).
- spackling compound — spackle
- spread one's wings — to make full use of one's abilities
- 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.
- superciliary ridge — browridge.
- supraorbital ridge — browridge.
- the middle passage — the journey across the Atlantic Ocean from the W coast of Africa to the Caribbean: the longest part of the journey of the slave ships sailing to the Caribbean or the Americas
- thiosulphuric acid — an unstable acid known only in solutions and in the form of its salts. Formula: H2S2O3
- threatened species — a species likely, in the near future, to become an endangered species within all or much of its range.
- thrills and spills — If you refer to thrills and spills, you are referring to an experience which is exciting and full of surprises.
- to pick and choose — If you pick and choose, you carefully choose only things that you really want and reject the others.
- to speak your mind — If you speak your mind, you say firmly and honestly what you think about a situation, even if this may offend or upset people.
- transporter bridge — a bridge for carrying passengers and vehicles by means of a platform suspended from a trolley.
- triphosphoric acid — the hypothetical acid H 5 P 3 O 10 , known chiefly by its salts.
- under-compensation — to compensate or pay less than is fair, customary, or expected.
- upper middle class — wealthy, highly-educated people
- video compact disc — (storage) (VCD) A storage format used for film distribution.
- welland ship canal — a ship canal in S Canada, in Ontario, connecting Lakes Erie and Ontario: 8 locks. 25 miles (40 km) long.
- white-spotted hyla — a type of tree frog (H. leucophyllata) of tropical America
- wild passionflower — the maypop, Passiflora incarnata.
- withdrawal symptom — effects of stopping a drug
- world championship — an international competition in a particular sport or activity for people all around the world