19-letter words containing a, e
- on the baker's list — in good health
- on the razor's edge — a sharp-edged instrument used especially for shaving the face or trimming the hair.
- on-the-job training — apprenticeship, learning by doing
- once in a blue moon — very rarely; almost never
- one after the other — one at a time
- one way and another — on balance
- one's pride and joy — Someone or something that is your pride and joy is very important to you and makes you feel very happy.
- open the floodgates — If events open the floodgates to something, they make it possible for that thing to happen much more often or much more seriously than before.
- open-angle glaucoma — Ophthalmology. abnormally high fluid pressure in the eye, most commonly caused either by blockage of the channel through which aqueous humor drains (open-angle glaucoma or chronic glaucoma) or by pressure of the iris against the lens, which traps the aqueous humor (angle-closure glaucoma or acute glaucoma)
- open-hearth furnace — a process of steelmaking in which the charge is laid in a furnace (open-hearth furnace) on a shallow hearth and heated directly by burning gas as well as radiatively by the furnace walls.
- open-hearth process — a process of steelmaking in which the charge is laid in a furnace (open-hearth furnace) on a shallow hearth and heated directly by burning gas as well as radiatively by the furnace walls.
- operational testing — (testing) A US DoD term for testing performed by the end-user on software in its normal operating environment.
- operations director — a director or senior manager who oversees the efficiency of business operations
- operations research — the analysis, usually involving mathematical treatment, of a process, problem, or operation to determine its purpose and effectiveness and to gain maximum efficiency.
- optical double star — two stars that appear as one if not viewed through a telescope with adequate magnification, such as two stars that are separated by a great distance but are nearly in line with each other and an observer (optical double star) or those that are relatively close together and comprise a single physical system (physical double star)
- optical mark reader — (hardware) (OMR) A special scanning device that can read carefully placed pencil marks on specially designed documents. OMR is frequenty used in forms, questionnaires, and answer-sheets.
- oral interpretation — the study and practice of vocally expressing the meaning of written compositions, especially of literature.
- orange flower water — a distilled infusion of orange blossom, used in cakes, confectionery, etc
- order of the garter — the highest order of British knighthood, instituted by Edward III about 1348.
- ordnance survey map — An Ordnance Survey map is a detailed map produced by the British or Irish government map-making organization.
- oriental fruit moth — a moth, Grapholitha molesta, introduced into the U.S. from Asia, the larvae of which infest and feed on the twigs and fruits of peach, plum, and related trees.
- orthopaedic surgeon — a surgeon specializing in the branch of surgery concerned with disorders of the spine and joints and the repair of deformities of these parts
- orthopaedic surgery — surgery concerned with disorders of the spine and joints and the repair of deformities of these parts
- out at (the) elbows — shabby; poverty-stricken
- out of the ordinary — of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional: One novel is brilliant, the other is decidedly ordinary; an ordinary person.
- outplacement agency — an agency that provides counselling and careers advice, esp to redundant executives, which is paid for by their previous employer
- outstation movement — the programme to resettle native Australians on their tribal lands
- over sb's dead body — You can say over my dead body to emphasize that you feel very strongly that something should not happen, and that you will do everything you can to prevent it.
- over someone's head — the upper part of the body in humans, joined to the trunk by the neck, containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
- over-centralization — the act or fact of centralizing; fact of being centralized.
- over-commercialized — to make commercial in character, methods, or spirit.
- over-interpretation — the act of interpreting; elucidation; explication: This writer's work demands interpretation.
- over-sentimentality — the quality or state of being sentimental or excessively sentimental.
- overhead projection — the projection (using an overhead projector) of an enlarged image of a transparency onto a surface above and behind the person using it
- overplay one's hand — If you say that someone is overplaying something such as a problem, you mean that they are making it seem more important than it really is.
- own flesh and blood — If you say that someone is your own flesh and blood, you are emphasizing that they are a member of your family.
- oxidation potential — (in a galvanic cell) the potential of the electrode at which oxidation occurs.
- oxidation-reduction — a chemical reaction between two substances in which one substance is oxidized and the other reduced.
- oxyacetylene burner — a blowpipe for cutting or welding metals at high temperatures
- palaeoethnobotanist — someone who studies fossil seeds and grains to further archaeological knowledge, esp of the domestication of cereals
- paleoanthropologist — the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.
- palisade parenchyma — the upper layer of ground tissue in a leaf, consisting of elongated cells beneath and perpendicular to the upper epidermis and constituting the primary area of photosynthesis.
- palomar observatory — an astronomical observatory situated on Palomar Mountain in S California, having a 200-inch (508-cm) reflecting telescope and a 48-inch (122-cm) Schmidt telescope.
- pancreatic fibrosis — cystic fibrosis.
- parachute spinnaker — a very large spinnaker used on a racing yacht.
- paradichlorobenzene — a white, crystalline, volatile, water-insoluble solid, C 6 H 4 Cl 2 , of the benzene series, having a penetrating odor: used chiefly as a moth repellent.
- parainfluenza virus — any of a group of viruses that cause respiratory infections with influenza-like symptoms, esp in children
- parallactic ellipse — the apparent ellipse, as seen against the background of more distant stars, described annually by a nearby star because of the earth's orbital motion around the sun. Compare parallax (def 2).
- parallel processing — extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging: parallel rows of trees.
- parallel projection — a projection from one plane to a second plane in which the lines joining points on the first plane and corresponding images are parallel.