16-letter words containing a, e, r, u
- pressure-treated — (of wood) treated with a chemical or chemicals applied under pressure to reduce such problems as insect infestation, decay, and rotting.
- preunderstanding — to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend: to understand Spanish; I didn't understand your question.
- primary consumer — (in the food chain) an animal that feeds on plants; a herbivore.
- primary producer — any green plant or any of various microorganisms that can convert light energy or chemical energy into organic matter.
- principal clause — the main clause.
- private judgment — personal opinion formed independently of the expressed position of an institution, as in matters of religion or politics.
- private language — a language that is not merely secret or accidentally limited to one user, but that cannot in principle be communicated to another
- project guardian — (project, security) A project which grew out of the ARPA support for Multics and the sale of Multics systems to the US Air Force. The USAF wanted a system that could be used to handle more than one security classification of data at a time. They contracted with Honeywell and MITRE Corporation to figure out how to do this. Project Guardian led to the creation of the Access Isolation Mechanism, the forerunner of the B2 labeling and star property support in Multics. The DoD Orange Book was influenced by the experience in building secure systems gained in Project Guardian.
- prosecution case — the case brought against someone by a legal authority
- proxima centauri — the nearest star to the sun at a distance of 4.3 light-years, part of the Alpha Centauri triple-star system located in the constellation Centaurus.
- pseudo-isidorian — of or relating to the collection of documents of the 9th century a.d. that consist chiefly of the Decretals, attributed to Isidore, archbishop of Seville, a.d. 600–36, and that were rejected as spurious in the 15th century.
- pseudo-patriotic — of, like, suitable for, or characteristic of a patriot.
- pseudo-realistic — interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real or practical: a realistic estimate of costs; a realistic planner.
- pseudo-spiritual — of, relating to, or consisting of spirit; incorporeal.
- pseudohistorical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- pseudoparenchyma — (in certain fungi and red algae) a compact mass of tissue, made up of interwoven hyphae or filaments, that superficially resembles plant tissue.
- pseudoperipteral — having a freestanding colonnade at each end, with engaged columns at the sides.
- public relations — (used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
- puddling-furnace — the act of a person or thing that puddles.
- pullorum disease — a highly contagious, frequently fatal disease of young poultry caused by the bacterium Salmonella gallinarum (pullorum), transmitted by the infected hen during egg production, and characterized by weakness, loss of appetite, and diarrhea.
- pulmonary artery — an artery conveying venous blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs.
- purchase request — A purchase request is a document detailing required items, the number required and when they will be required. Once approved it becomes a purchase order.
- purchasing agent — a person who buys materials, supplies, equipment, etc., for a company.
- purchasing power — Also called buying power. the ability to purchase goods and services.
- pure watercolour — water-soluble pigment, applied in transparent washes and without the admixture of white pigment in the lighter tones
- purple gallinule — a purple, blue, green, and white gallinule, Porphyrula martinica, inhabiting warmer areas of the New World, having a bright red, yellow, and blue bill, and lemon-yellow legs and feet.
- purple sandpiper — a sandpiper, Calidris maritima, of arctic regions of the New and Old World, having in winter a slate-gray back with purplish reflections.
- put one's oar in — to interfere or interrupt
- put pen to paper — If you put pen to paper, you write something.
- pyruvic aldehyde — a yellow, liquid compound, C 3 H 4 O 2 , containing both an aldehyde and a ketone group, usually obtained in a polymeric form: used chiefly in organic synthesis.
- quadricentennial — of, relating to, or marking the completion of a period of four hundred years.
- quadrimillennial — Occurring every four thousand years.
- quantum computer — a computer that makes use of the quantum states of electrons or other particles to store and process information as quantum bits.
- quarter sessions — an English court of general criminal jurisdiction for crimes less than homicide, held quarterly.
- quarter-finalist — A quarter-finalist is a person or team that is competing in a quarter-final.
- quasi-commercial — of, relating to, or characteristic of commerce.
- quasi-democratic — pertaining to or of the nature of democracy or a democracy.
- quasi-managerial — pertaining to management or a manager: managerial functions; the managerial class of society.
- quatercentennial — pertaining to or marking a period of 400 years.
- queen anne's war — the war (1702–13) in which England and its American colonies opposed France and its Indian allies. It constituted the American phase of the War of the Spanish Succession.
- queen maud range — a mountain range in Antarctica, in Ross Dependency, S of the Ross Sea.
- query by example — (database, language) (QBE) A user-friendly query language developed by Moshé Zloof of IBM in 1975.
- quinquagenarians — Plural form of quinquagenarian.
- radium emanation — (formerly) radon.
- rambunctiousness — difficult to control or handle; wildly boisterous: a rambunctious child.
- raster subsystem — (graphics) The part of a graphics system concerned with an image after it has been transformed and scaled to screen coordinates. It includes scan conversion and display.
- rattle around in — to live or work in (a house, office, etc.) that is too big for one's needs
- razor-billed auk — a black and white auk, Alca torda, of the American and European coasts of the northern North Atlantic, having a compressed black bill encircled by a white band.
- reaction turbine — a turbine driven by the reactive force of a fluid passing through the rotor blades.
- real-time euclid — Real-time language, restriction to time-bounded constructs. ["Real-Time Euclid: A Language for Reliable Real-Time Systems", E. Kligerman et al, IEEE Trans Software Eng SE-12(9):941-1986-09-949].