18-letter words containing a, r, s, g
- self-raising flour — flour with baking powder
- self-tapping screw — a screw designed to tap its corresponding female thread as it is driven.
- self-understanding — mental process of a person who comprehends; comprehension; personal interpretation: My understanding of the word does not agree with yours.
- shaggy dog (story) — a long, rambling joke, typically involving ludicrously unreal or irrational behavior and usually having an irrelevant conclusion
- shatterproof glass — glass designed to resist shattering
- shipping container — a large, strong container, usually of metal, used to store goods in during shipment
- shugart associates — (company) The disk drive company, founded by Alan F. Shugart, which developed SCSI. Alan left Shugart Associates in 1974 [did he quit or was he fired?]. Shugart Associates was bought, and eventually shut down by Xerox.
- shugart technology — Seagate Technology
- shunting operation — an operation in which rail coaches are manoeuvred
- ski-mountaineering — a combination of the sports of skiing and mountaineering, for example by climbing up a mountain then skiing down it
- skin friction drag — aerodynamic resistance or drag due to the contact of moving air with the surface of an airplane, a glider, etc.
- snake in the grass — a treacherous person, especially one who feigns friendship.
- social bookmarking — the practice of saving bookmarked Web pages to a public website as a way to share the links with other Internet users: Social bookmarking is a tool that allows you to add tags and comments to your bookmarks.
- social engineering — the application of the findings of social science to the solution of actual social problems.
- societal marketing — marketing that takes into account society's long-term welfare
- sole-charge school — a rural school with only one teacher
- something to spare — a surplus of something
- sound spectrograph — an electronic device for recording a sound spectogram.
- sow dragon's teeth — to take some action that is intended to prevent strife or trouble but that actually brings it about
- spare-part surgery — surgical replacement of defective or damaged organs by transplant or insertion of artificial devices
- specimen signature — a signature to be compared to an original signature in order to verify someone's identity
- 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.
- spherical triangle — a triangle formed by arcs of great circles of a sphere.
- spread one's wings — to make full use of one's abilities
- stand one's ground — the solid surface of the earth; firm or dry land: to fall to the ground.
- stand-by generator — an electrical system which operates automatically in case the usual system malfunctions
- stand-by passenger — someone who buys a (usually cheaper) ticket, if they are still available, on a plane just before it is about to leave rather than booking in advance
- standard of living — a grade or level of subsistence and comfort in everyday life enjoyed by a community, class, or individual: The well-educated generally have a high standard of living.
- state of emergency — If a government or other authority declares a state of emergency in an area, it introduces special measures such as increased powers for the police or army, usually because of civil disorder or because of a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
- stirling's formula — a relation that approximates the value of n factorial (n!), expressed as .
- strait of magellan — a strait between the mainland of S South America and Tierra del Fuego, linking the S Pacific with the S Atlantic. Length: 600 km (370 miles). Width: up to 32 km (20 miles)
- strangeness number — a quantum number, designating the strangeness of an elementary particle, equivalent to the hypercharge minus the baryon number
- strathclyde region — a former local government region in W Scotland: formed in 1975 from Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire, Buteshire, Dunbartonshire, and parts of Argyllshire, Ayrshire, and Stirlingshire; replaced in 1996 by the council areas of Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and East Ayrshire
- stratigraphic trap — A stratigraphic trap is a rock formation that contains hydrocarbons and is sealed by other rock formations.
- strong interaction — the interaction between gluons and between gluons and quarks that is responsible for the strong force.
- structural geology — the branch of geology dealing with the structure and distribution of the rocks that make up the crust of the earth. Also called tectonics. Compare structure (def 7a).
- submaxillary gland — submandibular gland.
- sugarloaf mountain — a mountain in SE Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, at the entrance to Guanabara Bay. 1280 feet (390 meters).
- summary proceeding — a mode of trial authorized by statute to be held before a judge without the usual full hearing.
- super giant slalom — a slalom race in which the course is longer and has more widely spaced gates than in a giant slalom.
- superciliary ridge — browridge.
- supporting actress — an actress playing a supporting role
- supraorbital ridge — browridge.
- surgical appliance — a specialized device used by somebody to relieve a particular medical condition
- sustaining program — a radio or television program without a commercial sponsor.
- swarm intelligence — the collective behaviour of a group of animals, esp social insects such as ants, bees, and termites, that are each following very basic rules
- sweet vernal grass — a Eurasian meadow grass, Anthoxanthum odoratum, found throughout North America, having clusters of brownish-green flowers.
- sweptwing aircraft — an aircraft which has wings that are swept (usually) backwards
- sympathetic string — a thin wire string, as in various obsolete musical instruments, designed to vibrate sympathetically with the bowed or plucked strings to reinforce the sound.