16-letter words containing a, i, k, e
- spanish mackerel — an American game fish, Scomberomorus maculatus, inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean.
- sparking voltage — the minimum voltage required to produce a spark across a given spark gap.
- speak for itself — be self-evident
- speak in tongues — to engage in glossolalia
- speak one's mind — give one's frank opinion
- speaking trumpet — a trumpet-shaped instrument used to carry the voice a great distance or held to the ear by a deaf person to aid his hearing
- spelling mistake — error in writing a word
- spring snowflake — a European amaryllidaceous plant, Leucojum vernum, with white nodding bell-shaped flowers
- square kilometer — a unit of area measurement equal to a square measuring one kilometer on each side. 2 , sq. km. Abbreviation: km.
- squeaky-bum time — the tense final matches in the race to a league championship, esp from the point of view of the leaders
- stab in the back — to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon: She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
- stick out a mile — to be extremely obvious
- sticking plaster — an adhesive cloth or other material for covering and closing superficial wounds, holding bandages in place, etc.
- stocking machine — a type of knitting machine
- straight whiskey — pure, unblended whiskey of 80 to 110 proof.
- streak lightning — lightning in which there is a sudden flash from what appears to be a single main line
- strike a balance — compromise
- strike a bargain — an advantageous purchase, especially one acquired at less than the usual cost: The sale offered bargains galore.
- substantive rank — a permanent rank in the armed services obtained by length of service, selection, etc
- swiss army knife — a small knife with blades and other tools, such as a nail file and corkscrew, all folding into the handle.
- take (to) flight — to run away; flee
- take a raincheck — to accept the postponement of an offer
- take by surprise — to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me.
- take the biscuit — Take the biscuit means the same as take the cake.
- take the liberty — do sth without permission
- take the lid off — to make startling or spectacular revelations about
- the little karoo — a high arid plateau in South Africa
- the weakest link — the person who is making the least contribution to the collective achievement of a group
- thermal cracking — Thermal cracking is an extraction process in which hydrocarbons such as crude oil are heated to a high temperature to break the molecular bonds.
- thick as thieves — very close friends
- thick-tailed ray — Ichthyology. any ray of the order Rajiformes, having a relatively thick, fleshy tail, including the guitarfishes and the skates.
- thinking pattern — manner of thinking
- three-card trick — a game in which players bet on which of three inverted playing cards is the queen
- thumbnail sketch — small preliminary drawing
- tiger kidnapping — a kidnapping in which one or more hostages are taken to coerce another person, usually a relation of the person or people held, to take part in a crime
- tightrope walker — performer who walks on high wire
- to break the ice — If you break the ice at a party or meeting, or in a new situation, you say or do something to make people feel relaxed and comfortable.
- to stake a claim — If you stake a claim, you say that something is yours or that you have a right to it.
- tokugawa iyeyasu — Tokugawa [taw-koo-gah-wah] /ˈtɔ kuˈgɑ wɑ/ (Show IPA), 1542–1616, Japanese general and public servant.
- travelling clock — a small clock taken by someone who is travelling
- trick-or-treater — a person, typically a child, who goes from door to door in costume on Halloween asking for candy or other treats
- unfranked income — any income from an investment that does not qualify as franked investment income
- up with the lark — up early in the morning
- upside-down cake — a cake that is baked on a layer of fruit, then turned before serving so that the fruit is on top.
- walk a tightrope — be in a precarious position
- walking delegate — (formerly) an official appointed by a trade union to go from place to place to investigate working conditions, to ascertain whether union contracts were being fulfilled, and, sometimes, to negotiate contracts between employers and the union.
- walking distance — distance that can easily be walked
- walking dragline — a very large-capacity dragline mounted on feet or pads instead of tracks
- weak interaction — the interaction between elementary particles and the intermediate vector bosons that carry the weak force from one particle to another.
- wide of the mark — If something such as a claim or estimate is wide of the mark, it is incorrect or inaccurate.