12-letter words containing a, p, e, s, t
- phylacteries — Judaism. either of two small, black, leather cubes containing a piece of parchment inscribed with verses 4–9 of Deut. 6, 13–21 of Deut. 11, and 1–16 of Ex. 13: one is attached with straps to the left arm and the other to the forehead during weekday morning prayers by Orthodox and Conservative Jewish men.
- picture sash — a large window sash, as for a picture window.
- pirate coast — an independent federation in E Arabia, formed in 1971, now comprising seven emirates on the S coast (formerly, Pirate Coast or Trucial Coast) of the Persian Gulf, formerly under British protection: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah (joined 1972), and Fujairah. About 32,300 sq. mi. (83,657 sq. km). Capital: Abu Dhabi. Abbreviation: U.A.E.
- piss-elegant — displaying a contrived, often pretentious, sophistication, opulence, etc.
- plainclothes — Plainclothes police officers wear ordinary clothes instead of a police uniform.
- plane strain — Plane strain is a two-dimensional state of strain in which all the shape changes of a material happen on a single plane.
- plane stress — Plane stress is a two-dimensional state of stress in which all stress is applied in a single plane.
- planetesimal — one of the small celestial bodies that, according to one theory (planetesimal hypothesis) were fused together to form the planets of the solar system.
- plaster cast — any piece of sculpture reproduced in plaster of Paris.
- plasterboard — a material used for insulating or covering walls, or as a lath, consisting of paper-covered sheets of gypsum and felt.
- plasteriness — the state of being made of or resembling plaster
- platanaceous — relating to the family Platanaceae
- plattdeutsch — the Low German vernacular dialects spoken in northern Germany.
- play clothes — clothes that are suitable for playing in
- play it safe — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- pleasantness — pleasing, agreeable, or enjoyable; giving pleasure: pleasant news.
- pleased with — satisfied or content with
- pneumatocyst — the cavity of a pneumatophore.
- poetastering — the profession of being a poetaster
- poeticalness — the characteristic of being poetical
- point spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- point-spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- police state — a nation in which the police, especially a secret police, summarily suppresses any social, economic, or political act that conflicts with governmental policy.
- polish wheat — a wheat, Triticum polonicum, grown chiefly in S Europe, N Africa, and Turkestan.
- politicaster — an ill-suited or disliked politician
- polychaetous — of or relating to the genus Polychaeta
- polypetalous — having a corolla of separate petals.
- pontificates — the office or term of office of a pontiff.
- port angeles — a city in NW Washington, on the Juan de Fuca Strait.
- port de bras — (used with a singular verb) the technique of moving the arms properly.
- positive law — customary law or law enacted by governmental authority (as distinguished from natural law).
- post-harvest — Also, harvesting. the gathering of crops.
- post-nuclear — pertaining to or involving atomic weapons: nuclear war.
- post-weaning — to accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than its mother's milk; cause to lose the need to suckle or turn to the mother for food.
- postaccident — occurring after an accident
- postage paid — stamped ready for mailing
- postal meter — a postal franking machine
- postal order — money order.
- postcardlike — (of a scene) resembling a postcard
- postcardware — Shareware that borders on freeware, in that the author requests only that satisfied users send a postcard of their home town or something. (This practice, silly as it might seem, serves to remind users that they are otherwise getting something for nothing, and may also be psychologically related to real estate "sales" in which $1 changes hands just to keep the transaction from being a gift.)
- postdeadline — the time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something: a five o'clock deadline.
- poster board — a thick, fairly stiff cardboard composed of layers of paper or paper pulp compressed together and typically used to support displays.
- poster paint — an opaque, water-based, typically bright-colored paint with a glue-size or gum binder, that is suitable for use on posters and is usually packaged in jars.
- postfracture — taking place after a fracture
- postgraduate — of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or consisting of post-graduates: a postgraduate seminar.
- postimperial — of, relating to, or designating the period after an empire
- postliterate — of or relating to a (hypothetical) time or stage in society when literacy is no longer necessary or valued
- postmedieval — occurring or existing after the Middle Ages, of or related to the period after the Middle Ages
- postmeridian — of or relating to the afternoon.
- postneonatal — of, relating to, or occurring in the (four week) period after birth