16-letter words containing a, s, c, n
- spanish-american — noting or pertaining to the parts of America where Spanish is the prevailing language.
- special clearing — (in Britain) the clearing of a cheque through a bank in less than the usual three days, for an additional charge
- special handling — (in the U.S. Postal Service) the handling of third- and fourth-class mail as first-class upon the payment of a fee.
- special interest — special-interest group (def 1).
- special pleading — Law. pleading that alleges special or new matter in avoidance of the allegations made by the opposite side.
- spiritual incest — marriage or a sexual relationship between persons related by spiritual affinity or with a person under a solemn vow of chastity
- splanchnic nerve — Anatomy. any of several nerves to the viscera and blood vessels of the chest and pelvic areas.
- splanchnopleural — the double layer formed by the association of the lower layer of the lateral plate of mesoderm with the underlying entoderm, which develops into the embryonic viscera.
- spraying machine — a device for spraying large volumes of liquid, such as insecticide onto crops
- spreading center — a linear zone in the sea floor along which magma rises and from which adjacent crustal plates are moving apart.
- spreading factor — a substance, as hyaluronidase, that promotes the diffusion of a material through body tissues
- stab in the back — to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon: She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
- staffing officer — someone who recruits, hires, and ensures the interests of staff and employees in an organization
- stage production — a play or show which is performed on stage
- stamp collecting — Stamp collecting is the hobby of building up a collection of stamps.
- stamp collection — the act of collecting postage stamps as a hobby
- standing cypress — a plant, Ipomopsis rubra, of the southern U.S., having feathery leaves and clusters of red and yellow flowers.
- stannic chloride — a colorless fuming and caustic liquid, SnCl 4 , soluble in water and alcohol, that converts with water to a crystalline solid: used for electrically conductive and electroluminescent coatings and in ceramics.
- stannic sulphide — an insoluble solid compound of tin usually existing as golden crystals or as a yellowish-brown powder: used as a pigment. Formula: SnS2
- start-up company — new business
- state's evidence — evidence given by an accomplice in a crime who becomes a voluntary witness against the other defendants: The defendants' case was lost when one of them turned state's evidence.
- state-controlled — controlled by the government
- statutory change — a change in the law
- steal a march on — to walk with regular and measured tread, as soldiers on parade; advance in step in an organized body.
- steric hindrance — the prevention or retardation of inter- or intramolecular interactions as a result of the spatial structure of a molecule.
- stick at nothing — to be prepared to do anything; be unscrupulous or ruthless
- sticking plaster — an adhesive cloth or other material for covering and closing superficial wounds, holding bandages in place, etc.
- stinging capsule — a nematocyst.
- stock allocation — Stock allocation is the decisions made about how quantities held at a central point will be distributed amongst several outlets in a retail chain.
- stock car racing — the sport of racing in stock cars
- stock management — the monitoring and control of goods and stock so that new stock can be ordered as required and the right numbers and quantities made available at all times
- stocking machine — a type of knitting machine
- stomach stapling — Stomach stapling is an operation in which part of the stomach is removed in order to help a person to eat less and lose weight.
- stomach-churning — causing nausea.
- stonecrop family — the plant family Crassulaceae, characterized by succulent herbaceous plants and shrubs with simple, fleshy leaves, clusters of small flowers, and dry, dehiscent fruit, and including hen-and-chickens, houseleek, kalanchoe, live-forever, orpine, sedum, and stonecrop.
- strait-lacedness — the state or quality of being strait-laced
- strange particle — any elementary particle with a strangeness quantum number other than zero.
- street christian — (especially in the 1960s) a Christian whose religious life centers more in social or communal groups than in institutional churches.
- strike a balance — compromise
- string orchestra — an orchestra consisting only of violins, violas, cellos, and double basses
- student teaching — the act of teaching in a school for a limited period under supervision as part of a course to qualify as a teacher
- studentification — the renting of particular accommodation exclusively to students
- subcartilaginous — partially or incompletely cartilaginous.
- subjectification — to make subjective.
- submarine chaser — a small patrol vessel, 100–200 feet (30–60 meters) long, designed for military operations against submarines.
- subsistence wage — the lowest wage upon which a worker and his or her family can survive
- substance abuser — a person who takes an excessive amount of drugs in a manner that is detrimental to health
- succession state — any of a number of usually new states that are established in or expand over the territory formerly ruled by one large state
- sulfocarbanilide — thiocarbanilide.
- summer complaint — an acute condition of diarrhea, occurring during the hot summer months chiefly in infants and children, caused by bacterial contamination of food and associated with poor hygiene.