18-letter words containing a, l, s, t
- not by a long shot — absolutely not
- notifiable disease — any one of a number of infectious diseases of humans and animals, that must be reported to the public health authorities
- nova scotia salmon — an Atlantic salmon, especially from the waters off Nova Scotia, cured in the local manner.
- nursery facilities — places where young children are looked after
- objective idealism — a form of idealism asserting that the act of experiencing has a reality combining and transcending the natures of the object experienced and of the mind of the observer.
- oblique-slip fault — a fault on which the movement is along both the strike and the dip of the fault
- oedipus at colonus — a tragedy by Sophocles, written toward the end of his life and produced posthumously in 401? b.c.
- offensive material — any published or broadcast content (such as articles, photographs, films, or websites) that is likely to be upsetting, insulting, or objectionable to some or most people
- official solicitor — an officer of the Supreme Court of Judicature with special responsibilities for protecting the interests of persons under disability
- offset lithography — offset (def 6).
- oil of catechumens — holy oil used in baptism, the ordination of a cleric, the coronation of a sovereign, or in the consecration of a church.
- old man of the sea — (in The Arabian Nights' Entertainments) an old man who clung to the shoulders of Sindbad the Sailor for many days and nights.
- on one's last legs — either of the two lower limbs of a biped, as a human being, or any of the paired limbs of an animal, arthropod, etc., that support and move the body.
- on the danger list — critically ill in hospital
- one's heart bleeds — used to express sympathetic grief, but often used ironically
- operationalisation — Alternative spelling of operationalization.
- optical disc drive — optical disk drive
- optical disk drive — (hardware) (Or "optical disc drive", "optical storage") A generic term for any device that reads and/or writes optical media, i.e. compact discs, DVDs and/or Blu-ray discs or future media that uses light (from a small laser) to read data off a removable, rotating disk. At least one such drive is commonly installed in most personal computers to allow them to play and/or record audio and video media and load and store data such as program installers. The floppy disk has been replaced by optical media due to its vastly greater capacity, e.g. 50,000 megabytes for a dual-layer blu-ray disc compared with 1.5 megabytes for a floppy (over 30,000 times as much).
- optical microscope — traditional magnifying instrument
- optical soundtrack — the final soundtrack on a motion picture, which appears as a band of black and white serrations along a strip of film to the left of the composite print. Light is shined through the serrations and is converted to audible sound.
- order of australia — an order awarded to Australians for outstanding achievement or for service to Australia or to humanity at large; established in 1975
- organic solidarity — social cohesiveness that is based on division of labor and interdependence and is characteristic of complex, industrial societies.
- oriental alabaster — alabaster (def 2).
- oriental cat's-eye — a chatoyant variety of chrysoberyl, used as a gem.
- oriental scops owl — any of a group of small owls having ear tufts and a whistling call, especially Otus scops (Old World scops owl) and O. sunia (Oriental scops owl)
- oriental shorthair — any of a breed of domestic cat, similar to the Siamese but with greenish eyes and often a coat of a solid color
- oscillating engine — a steam engine having piston rods connected directly to the crankshaft and cylinders oscillating on trunnions.
- overspecialization — excessive specialization, as in a field of study.
- owen stanley range — a mountain range in SE New Guinea. Highest peak: Mount Victoria, 4073 m (13 363 ft)
- pair of spectacles — a score of 0 in each innings of a match
- paleoclimatologist — the branch of paleogeography dealing with the study of paleoclimates.
- parathyroid glands — any of several small oval glands usually lying near or embedded in the thyroid gland.
- parliamentarianism — advocacy of a parliamentary system of government.
- passing modulation — a modulation of a temporary nature.
- payload specialist — an astronaut trained to handle highly complex or classified equipment carried aboard a space shuttle and to conduct experiments in space.
- payment by results — a system of wage payment whereby all or part of the wage varies systematically according to the level of work performance of an employee
- peano's postulates — a collection of axioms concerning the properties of the set of all positive integers, including the principle of mathematical induction.
- pectoral sandpiper — an American sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, the male of which, when courting, inflates its chest conspicuously.
- pedal steel guitar — an oblong, floor-mounted electrified guitar, usually having ten strings, fretted with a steel bar and producing a wailing sound that is modulated by use of a foot pedal.
- pellitory of spain — a small Mediterranean plant, Anacyclus pyrethrum, the root of which contains an oil formerly used to relieve toothache: family Asteraceae (composites)
- pennsylvania dutch — the descendants of 17th- and 18th-century settlers in Pennsylvania from southwest Germany and Switzerland.
- personal assistant — aide
- personal exemption — Your personal exemption is the amount of money that is deducted from your gross income before you have to start paying income tax.
- phanerocrystalline — (of a rock) having the principal constituents in the form of crystals visible to the naked eye.
- phantasmagorically — having a fantastic or deceptive appearance, as something in a dream or created by the imagination.
- phosphatidylserine — any of a class of phospholipids occurring in biological membranes and fats
- photochemical smog — air pollution containing ozone and other reactive chemical compounds formed by the action of sunlight on nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, especially those in automobile exhaust.
- physical chemistry — the branch of chemistry dealing with the relations between the physical properties of substances and their chemical composition and transformations.
- physical education — systematic instruction in sports, exercises, and hygiene given as part of a school or college program.
- physical inventory — To carry out a physical inventory is to count all the stock on hand.