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18-letter words containing a, l, t, o

  • overdraft facility — a facility (of a bank or building-society cheque account) that allows a withdrawal of money in excess of the account's credit balance
  • overgeneralization — the act or process of overgeneralizing.
  • overnight telegram — a type of domestic telegram sent at a reduced rate with a minimum charge for 10 words or less and accepted until midnight for delivery the following day.
  • 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
  • palaeoanthropology — the branch of anthropology concerned with primitive man
  • paleoclimatologist — the branch of paleogeography dealing with the study of paleoclimates.
  • parallactic motion — the apparent motion of stars due to the earth's orbital motion.
  • parallel computing — parallel processing
  • parallel evolution — the independent development of closely corresponding adaptive features in two or more groups of organisms that occupy different but equivalent habitats, as marsupial mammals in Australia and placental mammals on other continents.
  • parallel importing — the importing of certain goods, esp pharmaceutical drugs, by dealers who undersell local manufacturers
  • parallel reduction — A form of applicative order reduction in which all redexes in an expression are reduced simultaneously. Variants include parallel outermost reduction and lenient reduction. See normal order reduction.
  • parathyroid glands — any of several small oval glands usually lying near or embedded in the thyroid gland.
  • partial evaluation — (compiler, algorithm)   (Or "specialisation") An optimisation technique where the compiler evaluates some subexpressions at compile-time. For example, Partial evaluation might change the termination properties of the program if, for example, the expression (x * 0) was reduced to 0 it would terminate even if x (and thus x * 0) did not. It may be necessary to reorder an expression to partially evaluate it, e.g. f x y = (x + y) + 1 g z = f 3 z If we rewrite f: f x y = (x + 1) + y then the expression x+1 becomes a constant for the function g and we can say g z = f 3 z = (3 + 1) + z = 4 + z Partial evaluation of built-in functions applied to constant arguments is known as constant folding. See also full laziness.
  • passing modulation — a modulation of a temporary nature.
  • pathologic anatomy — the branch of pathology dealing with the morphologic changes in tissues.
  • payload specialist — an astronaut trained to handle highly complex or classified equipment carried aboard a space shuttle and to conduct experiments in space.
  • peak-to-peak value — Peak-to-peak value is the maximum voltage change occurring during one cycle of alternating voltage or current.
  • 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.
  • pellitory of spain — a small Mediterranean plant, Anacyclus pyrethrum, the root of which contains an oil formerly used to relieve toothache: family Asteraceae (composites)
  • people trafficking — the practice of bringing immigrants into a country illegally
  • perlocutionary act — the action of affecting someone by uttering certain words
  • 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.
  • peter and the wolf — a composition by Sergei Prokofiev written in 1936. It is a children's story with both music and text, spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra
  • 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.
  • phantom withdrawal — the unauthorized removal of funds from a bank account using an automated teller machine
  • philharmonic pitch — a standard of pitch in which A above middle C is established at 440 vibrations per second.
  • 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 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.
  • phytohemagglutinin — a lectin, obtained from the red kidney bean, that binds to the membranes of T cells and stimulates metabolic activity, cell division, etc.
  • pileolated warbler — either of two western subspecies of Wilson's warbler.
  • pilotless aircraft — an aircraft equipped for operation by radio or by robot control, without a human pilot aboard; drone.
  • plane polarization — a type of polarization in which the electric vector of waves of light or other electromagnetic radiation is restricted to vibration in a single plane
  • plane trigonometry — the branch of trigonometry dealing with plane triangles.
  • planned parenthood — an organization that gives out information on the planning of the number and spacing of the births of one's children, as through the use of birth-control measures
  • plate-glass window — a window that has glass which has been formed by rolling
  • platinocyanic acid — the hypothetical acid containing platinum and the cyano group, H 2 Pt(CN) 4 .
  • play cat and mouse — Also called cat and rat. a children's game in which players in a circle keep a player from moving into or out of the circle and permit a second player to move into or out of the circle to escape the pursuing first player.
  • plenum ventilation — a system of mechanical ventilation in which fresh air is forced into the spaces to be ventilated from a chamber (plenum chamber) at a pressure slightly higher than atmospheric pressure, so as to expel foul air.
  • point d'angleterre — a bobbin lace in which the design is worked out with either a needle or bobbin.
  • point-bearing pile — a pile depending on the soil or rock beneath its foot for support.
  • policeman's helmet — a Himalayan balsaminaceous plant, Impatiens glandulifera, with large purplish-pink flowers, introduced into Britain
  • political football — a political issue that is continually debated but has not yet been resolved
  • political prisoner — sb imprisoned for political dissidence
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