16-letter words containing a, m, u, r
- obsequent stream — a stream flowing in a direction opposite to that of the dip of the local strata.
- onboard computer — onboard a vehicle, ship, plane, train or spacecraft
- operating manual — a leaflet of instructions on how to use something (such as an electrical appliance, etc)
- optical computer — an experimental computer that uses photons rather than electrical impulses to process data a thousand times faster than with conventional integrated circuits.
- orthodox judaism — Judaism as observed by Orthodox Jews.
- outsmart oneself — to have one's efforts at cunning or cleverness result in one's own disadvantage
- over-communicate — to impart knowledge of; make known: to communicate information; to communicate one's happiness.
- overaccumulation — Accumulation of too much.
- oxidation number — the state of an element or ion in a compound with regard to the electrons gained or lost by the element or ion in the reaction that formed the compound, expressed as a positive or negative number indicating the ionic charge of the element or ion.
- paint-by-numbers — formulaic; showing no original thought or creativity
- painted trillium — a North American trillium, Trillium undulatum, having white flowers streaked with pink or purple.
- pairs tournament — an event in a sport such as tennis or darts open to pairs of competitors
- palmer peninsula — former name of Antarctic Peninsula.
- palmtop computer — a computer that has a small screen and compressed keyboard and is small enough to be held in the hand, often used as a personal organizer
- palomar mountain — mountain in SW Calif., near San Diego: site of an astronomical observatory: 6,140 ft (1,871 m)
- papillary muscle — one of the small bundles of muscles attached to the ventricle walls and to the chordae tendineae that tighten these tendons during ventricular contraction.
- parasol mushroom — a common edible field mushroom, Macrolepiota (Lepiota) procera, having a light-brown, scaly cap.
- permaculturalist — a system of cultivation intended to maintain permanent agriculture or horticulture by relying on renewable resources and a self-sustaining ecosystem.
- perpetual motion — the motion of a theoretical mechanism that, without any losses due to friction or other forms of dissipation of energy, would continue to operate indefinitely at the same rate without any external energy being applied to it.
- photograph album — bound book for photos
- pietermaritzburg — a province in the E part of the Republic of South Africa. 35,284 sq. mi. (91,886 sq. km). Capital: Pietermaritzburg.
- platinum-iridium — (standard) A standard, against which all others of the same category are measured. Usage: silly. The notion is that one of whatever it is has actually been cast in platinum-iridium alloy and placed in the vault beside the Standard Kilogram at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris, as the bar defining the standard metre once was. "This garbage collection algorithm has been tested against the platinum-iridium cons cell in Paris." Compare golden.
- pleasure steamer — a boat powered by steam, used for recreational purposes
- pneumatic trough — a trough filled with liquid, especially water, for collecting gases in bell jars or the like by displacement.
- portmanteau word — a case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, especially a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves.
- potato tuberworm — the larva of the potato moth.
- primary consumer — (in the food chain) an animal that feeds on plants; a herbivore.
- primary industry — an industry, as agriculture, forestry, or fishing, that deals in obtaining natural materials.
- primary producer — any green plant or any of various microorganisms that can convert light energy or chemical energy into organic matter.
- print journalism — journalism as practiced in newspapers and magazines.
- private judgment — personal opinion formed independently of the expressed position of an institution, as in matters of religion or politics.
- proxima centauri — the nearest star to the sun at a distance of 4.3 light-years, part of the Alpha Centauri triple-star system located in the constellation Centaurus.
- pseudoparenchyma — (in certain fungi and red algae) a compact mass of tissue, made up of interwoven hyphae or filaments, that superficially resembles plant tissue.
- pullorum disease — a highly contagious, frequently fatal disease of young poultry caused by the bacterium Salmonella gallinarum (pullorum), transmitted by the infected hen during egg production, and characterized by weakness, loss of appetite, and diarrhea.
- pulmonary artery — an artery conveying venous blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs.
- punctuation mark — any of a group of conventional marks or characters used in punctuation, as the period, comma, semicolon, question mark, or dash.
- quadrimillennial — Occurring every four thousand years.
- quantum computer — a computer that makes use of the quantum states of electrons or other particles to store and process information as quantum bits.
- quasi-commercial — of, relating to, or characteristic of commerce.
- quasi-compulsory — required; mandatory; obligatory: compulsory education.
- quasi-democratic — pertaining to or of the nature of democracy or a democracy.
- quasi-managerial — pertaining to management or a manager: managerial functions; the managerial class of society.
- queen maud range — a mountain range in Antarctica, in Ross Dependency, S of the Ross Sea.
- query by example — (database, language) (QBE) A user-friendly query language developed by Moshé Zloof of IBM in 1975.
- radioimmunoassay — a test procedure that integrates immunologic and radiolabeling techniques to measure minute quantities of a substance, as a protein, hormone, or drug, in a given sample of body fluid or tissue.
- radium emanation — (formerly) radon.
- rambunctiousness — difficult to control or handle; wildly boisterous: a rambunctious child.
- rancho cucamonga — a city in SE California.
- raster subsystem — (graphics) The part of a graphics system concerned with an image after it has been transformed and scaled to screen coordinates. It includes scan conversion and display.
- rating community — an online community based around a website that allows members to rate each other's photographs, qualifications, etc, as well as those of applicants, and which only those approved by existing members are allowed to join