18-letter words containing a, p, o, t, h, e
- processionary moth — a moth of the family Thaumetopoeidae, esp the oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea), the larvae of which leave the communal shelter nightly for food in a V-shaped procession
- projection machine — an apparatus that projects motion pictures; projector.
- proprietary rights — rights of ownership
- protease inhibitor — a drug that inhibits the action of protease, especially any of a class of antiviral drugs that prevent the cleavage and replication of HIV proteins.
- provision merchant — a person or company in the business of retailing food and other provisions
- pseudo-anarchistic — a person who advocates or believes in anarchy or anarchism.
- psychogalvanometer — a type of galvanometer for detecting and measuring psychogalvanic currents.
- psychotherapeutics — psychotherapy.
- put heads together — the upper part of the body in humans, joined to the trunk by the neck, containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
- put the clock back — to regress
- root canal therapy — endodontics.
- segmental phonemes — phonemes consisting of sound segments; hence, the vowel, consonant, and semivowel sounds of a language
- september holidays — a period of time in September when people do not have to go to school, college or work
- septic sore throat — an acute, toxic, streptococcus infection of the throat producing fever, tonsillitis, and other serious effects.
- shape-note singing — a traditional style of a capella singing using shape-note notation.
- shatterproof glass — glass designed to resist shattering
- shipping container — a large, strong container, usually of metal, used to store goods in during shipment
- shunting operation — an operation in which rail coaches are manoeuvred
- slow on the uptake — slow to understand or learn
- something to spare — a surplus of something
- sound spectrograph — an electronic device for recording a sound spectogram.
- spaghetti junction — an interchange, usually between motorways, in which there are a large number of underpasses and overpasses and intersecting roads used by a large volume of high-speed traffic
- spectroheliography — the process of obtaining an image of the sun in light of a particular wavelength, such as calcium or hydrogen, showing the distribution of the element over the surface and in the solar atmosphere, using a spectroheliograph
- spherical geometry — the branch of geometry that deals with figures on spherical surfaces.
- spike-tooth harrow — a harrow equipped with straight teeth on horizontal bars, usually employed to smooth and level plowed soil or seedbeds for planting or sowing.
- spotted flycatcher — a European woodland songbird, Muscicapa striata, with a greyish-brown streaked plumage: family Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers)
- supportive therapy — any treatment, such as the intravenous administration of certain fluids, designed to reinforce or sustain the physiological well-being of a patient
- symphony orchestra — a large orchestra composed of wind, string, and percussion instruments and organized to perform symphonic compositions.
- systematic phoneme — a phonological unit in generative phonology representing an underlying form that takes into account the relationship between phonological patterns and morphological variation, as the unit underlying the second vowel in both derive and derivative.
- take the wraps off — to reveal
- telephone exchange — a telecommunications facility to which subscribers' telephones connect, that switches calls among subscribers or to other exchanges for further routing.
- temporary hardness — hardness of water due to the presence of magnesium and calcium hydrogencarbonates, which can be precipitated as carbonates by boiling
- the better part of — a large part of
- the family compact — the ruling oligarchy in Upper Canada in the early 19th century
- the heavens opened — it started pouring with rain
- the lords temporal — (in Britain) peers other than bishops in their capacity as members of the House of Lords
- the operative word — If you describe a word as the operative word, you want to draw attention to it because you think it is important or exactly true in a particular situation.
- the palmetto state — a nickname for South Carolina
- the powers that be — You can refer to people in authority as the powers that be, especially when you want to say that you disagree with them or do not understand what they say or do.
- the-cocktail-party — a play in verse (1950) by T. S. Eliot.
- to hold your peace — If you hold or keep your peace, you do not speak, even though there is something you want or ought to say.
- to learn the ropes — If you are learning the ropes, you are learning how a particular task or job is done.
- to lick into shape — If you lick, knock, or whip someone or something into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve them so that they are in the condition that you want them to be in.
- to open your heart — If you open your heart or pour out your heart to someone, you tell them your most private thoughts and feelings.
- to pick and choose — If you pick and choose, you carefully choose only things that you really want and reject the others.
- to spill the beans — If you spill the beans, you tell someone something that people have been trying to keep secret.
- to sweep the board — If someone sweeps the board in a competition or election, they win nearly everything that it is possible to win.
- to take the plunge — If you take the plunge, you decide to do something that you consider difficult or risky.
- to watch your step — If someone tells you to watch your step, they are warning you to be careful about how you behave or what you say so that you do not get into trouble.
- up to the eyeballs — You use up to the eyeballs to emphasize that someone is in an undesirable state to a very great degree.