18-letter words containing a, p, t, i
- appropriation bill — a bill to set apart money for a specific purpose
- arachibutyrophobia — Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one's mouth.
- arctic archipelago — group of mostly large islands in the Arctic Ocean off the N coast of Canada
- arkansas toothpick — a bowie knife or similar sharp knifelike implement.
- arm's-length price — a price of a transaction agreed in accordance with market values, disregarding any connection such as common ownership of the companies involved
- army of occupation — an army that goes into a defeated country to enforce peace terms, keep order, etc.
- aseptic meningitis — a mild form of meningitis usually caused by one of several viruses, characterized by headache, fever, and neck stiffness.
- assignment problem — (mathematics, algorithm) (Or "linear assignment") Any problem involving minimising the sum of C(a, b) over a set P of pairs (a, b) where a is an element of some set A and b is an element of set B, and C is some function, under constraints such as "each element of A must appear exactly once in P" or similarly for B, or both. For example, the a's could be workers and the b's projects. The problem is "linear" because the "cost function" C() depends only on the particular pairing (a, b) and is independent of all other pairings.
- associated company — a company which is largely controlled by its parent company because the latter owns anything up to 50% of the shares
- assumption of risk — Assumption of risk is the practice of paying for minor losses yourself, but protecting against catastrophic losses by buying insurance cover.
- asymptotic freedom — a property of the force between quarks, according to quantum chromodynamics, such that they behave almost like free particles when they are close together within a hadron.
- at your fingertips — If you say that something is at your fingertips, you approve of the fact that you can reach it easily or that it is easily available to you.
- athletic supporter — jockstrap
- atmospheric engine — an early form of single-acting engine in which the power stroke is provided by atmospheric pressure acting upon a piston in an exhausted cylinder.
- atmospheric window — wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be transmitted through the earth's atmosphere. Atmospheric windows occur in the visible, infrared, and radio regions of the spectrum
- auditory phonetics — the branch of phonetics concerned with the perception of speech sounds by humans
- australopithecines — Plural form of australopithecine.
- authorized capital — the total amount of value of the shares that a company is allowed to distribute
- autobiographically — In a autobiographical manner.
- autoignition point — the minimum temperature at which a substance will undergo spontaneous combustion.
- automatic exposure — the automatic adjustment of the lens aperture and shutter speed of a camera by a control mechanism
- avoirdupois weight — a British and American system of weights based on a pound of 16 ounces
- axile placentation — a type of placenta structure in an ovary with the ovules forming at the angles where the septa join the central placenta
- balanced computing — (jargon) Matching computer tools to job activities so that the computer system structure parallels the organisation structure and work functions. Both personal computers and employees operate in a decentralised environment with monitoring of achievement of management objectives from centralised corporate systems.
- ballistic pendulum — a device consisting of a large mass hung from a horizontal bar by two rods, used to measure the velocity of an object, as a bullet, by retaining the object upon impact, its velocity being a function of the displacement of the mass.
- band-tailed pigeon — a wild pigeon, Columba fasciata, of western North America, having a gray band on its tail.
- baritone saxophone — the second lowest instrument in the family of saxophones
- beautiful hook-tip — a similar but unrelated species, Laspeyria flexula
- beauty competition — a competition in which the participants, usually women, are judged on their attractiveness, with a prize, and often a title, awarded to the winner
- behaviour patterns — the characteristic ways in which a person or animal acts
- benchmark position — a public service job used for comparison with a similar position, such as a position in commerce, for wage settlements
- beta-naphthylamine — a white to reddish, crystalline, water-soluble, extremely toxic solid, C 10 H 9 N, used chiefly in the manufacture of azo dyes.
- bichromate process — any of several methods of photography in which the light-sensitive medium is alkaline bichromate associated with a colloid such as gum, albumen, or gelatin.
- biological parents — the biological mother and father of a child
- biological therapy — biotherapy
- bipolar transistor — (electronics) A transistor made from a sandwich of n- and p-type semiconductor material: either npn or pnp. The middle section is known as the "base" and the other two as the "collector" and "emitter". When used as an amplifying element, the base to emitter junction is in a "forward-biased" (conducting) condition, and the base to collector junction is "reverse-biased" or non-conducting. Small changes in the base to emitter current (the input signal) cause either holes (for pnp devices) or free electrons (for npn) to enter the base from the emitter. The attracting voltage of the collector causes the majority of these charges to cross into and be collected by the collector, resulting in amplification. Contrast field effect transistor.
- blocking capacitor — a capacitor that blocks the passage of direct current but allows alternating current to pass
- blue-plate special — an inexpensive restaurant meal served at a fixed price on a large plate, originally blue
- bomb disposal unit — a unit of the police or armed services specializing in bomb disposal
- burkitt's lymphoma — a cancer characterized by tumors containing lymphoid cells, occurring esp. in children, in the jaw, eyes, and internal organs: it is associated with the Epstein-Barr virus
- c-reactive protein — a globulin in the blood produced by the liver in response to inflammation
- calcium propionate — a white, water-soluble powder, CaC 6 H 10 O 4 , used in bakery products to inhibit the growth of fungi.
- campaign furniture — furniture, as chests or desks, having metal hinges on the corners and handles on the sides.
- cap of maintenance — a ceremonial cap or hat worn or carried as a symbol of office, rank, etc
- cape breton island — an island off SE Canada, in NE Nova Scotia, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Canso: its easternmost point is Cape Breton. Pop: 132 298 (2006). Area: 10 280 sq km (3970 sq miles)
- cape saint vincent — a headland at the SW extremity of Portugal: scene of several important naval battles, notably in 1797, when the British defeated the French and Spanish
- capital allowances — the money spent by a company on fixed assets which can be taken off the profits of the company before tax is imposed
- capital investment — the money that is invested in something
- capital punishment — Capital punishment is punishment which involves the legal killing of a person who has committed a serious crime such as murder.
- captain james cook — Frederick Albert, 1865–1940, U.S. physician and polar explorer.