18-letter words containing a, m, p, l
- pulmonary embolism — the blockage of a pulmonary artery, often by a blood clot, that stops the flow of blood to the lungs and which can result in death if untreated
- pulmonic airstream — a current of lung air set in motion by the respiratory muscles in the production of speech.
- pyromucic aldehyde — furfural.
- quartz-iodine lamp — a type of tungsten-halogen lamp containing small amounts of iodine and having a quartz envelope, operating at high temperature and producing an intense light for use in car headlamps, etc
- quasi-metaphysical — pertaining to or of the nature of metaphysics.
- radical empiricism — (in the philosophy of William James) the doctrine that the only proper subject matter of philosophy is that which can be defined in terms of experience, and that relations are a part of experience.
- real-time computer — a computer that can process data or information almost immediately
- redevelopment area — an urban area in which all or most of the buildings are demolished and rebuilt
- repayment schedule — a document detailing the specific terms of a borrower's loan, such as monthly payment, interest rate, due dates etc
- replacement engine — an engine used to replace or substitute an older or broken engine (in a vehicle, etc)
- resaca de la palma — a locality in S Texas, near Brownsville: battle 1846.
- resistance plasmid — any of a group of bacterial plasmids carrying genetic information that provide resistance to antibiotic drugs: some resistance plasmids are able to transfer themselves, and hence resistance, during conjugation
- rural municipality — any lightly settled area in Canada lacking a local elected government and administered directly by a provincial government.
- sampling equipment — Sampling equipment is equipment which is used to remove small amounts of something for analysis and monitoring.
- sampling frequency — sample rate
- sampling statistic — any function of observed data, esp one used to estimate the corresponding parameter of the underlying distribution, such as the sample mean, sample variance, etc
- seasonal promotion — Seasonal promotions are items marketed to customers at the appropriate time of year, such as coats in the winter and bathing suits in the summer.
- segmental phonemes — phonemes consisting of sound segments; hence, the vowel, consonant, and semivowel sounds of a language
- self-contemplation — the act or process of thinking about oneself or one's values, beliefs, behavior, etc.
- self-disparagement — the act of disparaging.
- sell someone a pup — to swindle someone by selling him something worthless
- september holidays — a period of time in September when people do not have to go to school, college or work
- simple enumeration — a procedure for arriving at empirical generalizations by haphazard accumulation of positive instances.
- sleeping policeman — a bump built across roads, esp in housing estates, to deter motorists from speeding
- slow-motion replay — a showing again in slow motion of a sequence of action, esp of part of a sporting contest immediately after it happens
- small pastern bone — the part of the foot of a horse, cow, etc., between the fetlock and the hoof.
- soda-lime feldspar — plagioclase.
- sodium-vapour lamp — a type of electric lamp consisting of a glass tube containing neon and sodium vapour at low pressure through which an electric current is passed to give an orange light. They are used in street lighting
- southampton island — an island in N Canada, in the Northwest Territories at the entrance to Hudson Bay. 19,100 sq. mi. (49,470 sq. km).
- spackling compound — spackle
- special assessment — a tax levied by a local government on private property to pay the cost of local public improvements, as sidewalk construction or sewage disposal, that are of general benefit to the property taxed.
- spectropolarimeter — an instrument for determining the extent to which plane-polarized light of various wavelengths is rotated by certain solutions, consisting of a combination of a spectroscope and a polarimeter.
- spherical geometry — the branch of geometry that deals with figures on spherical surfaces.
- st. james's palace — a palace in London, England: the royal residence from the time of Henry VIII until the accession of Victoria.
- subatomic particle — physics:
- super giant slalom — a slalom race in which the course is longer and has more widely spaced gates than in a giant slalom.
- talent competition — a contest in which people compete by showcasing their talents, for example in singing, dancing, acrobatics, etc
- television company — a company that broadcasts programmes by television
- temporal summation — the act or process of summing.
- the family compact — the ruling oligarchy in Upper Canada in the early 19th century
- the lords temporal — (in Britain) peers other than bishops in their capacity as members of the House of Lords
- the middle passage — the journey across the Atlantic Ocean from the W coast of Africa to the Caribbean: the longest part of the journey of the slave ships sailing to the Caribbean or the Americas
- the palmetto state — a nickname for South Carolina
- unit magnetic pole — the unit of magnetic pole strength equal to the strength of a magnetic pole that repels a similar pole with a force of one dyne, the two poles being placed in a vacuum and separated by a distance of one centimeter.
- up someone's alley — suited to someone's tastes or abilities
- upper klamath lake — See under Klamath Lakes.
- upper middle class — wealthy, highly-educated people
- wattless component — Electricity. reactive component.
- wildlife programme — (esp on television) a documentary whose subject is wild animals in their natural habitat or undomesticated fauna and flora generally
- withdrawal symptom — effects of stopping a drug