19-letter words containing a, s, e, o
- to have sth in mind — If you ask someone what they have in mind, you want to know in more detail about an idea or wish they have.
- to make a fast buck — When someone makes a fast buck or makes a quick buck, they earn a lot of money quickly and easily, often by doing something which is considered to be dishonest.
- to make like sth/sb — If you make like you are doing something, you act as if you are doing it, and if you make like someone, you act as if you are that person.
- to ring the changes — If you say that someone rings the changes, you mean that they make changes or improvements to the way something is organized or done.
- to run out of steam — If you run out of steam, you stop doing something because you have no more energy or enthusiasm left.
- to steer/stay clear — If you steer clear or stay clear of someone or something, you avoid them.
- to stick out a mile — If you say that something or someone sticks out a mile or stands out a mile, you are emphasizing that they are very obvious and easy to recognize.
- to take a back seat — If you take a back seat, you allow other people to have all the power and to make all the decisions.
- to take the biscuit — If someone has done something very stupid, rude, or selfish, you can say that they take the biscuit or that what they have done takes the biscuit, to emphasize your surprise at their behaviour.
- to tear a strip off — If you tear a strip off someone or if you tear them off a strip, you speak to them angrily and criticize them severely.
- to this/that effect — You use to this effect, to that effect, or to the effect that to indicate that you have given or are giving a summary of something that was said or written, and not the actual words used.
- total probable loss — A total probable loss is the highest degree of loss or damage that is probable if an insured event occurs.
- touch all the bases — to deal with all related details
- traffic regulations — rules designed to expedite the flow of traffic and prevent collisions
- trahison des clercs — a compromising of intellectual integrity, esp. for political reasons
- transdenominational — of or relating to a denomination or denominations.
- transesterification — a reaction between an ester of one alcohol and a second alcohol to form an ester of the second alcohol and an alcohol from the original ester, as that of methyl acetate and ethyl alcohol to form ethyl acetate and methyl alcohol; interesterification.
- transformer station — a station of an electricity generation, transmission and distribution system where voltage is transformed from high to low or the reverse using transformers
- transitional relief — a form of tax relief, designed to smooth large changes in liability, which operates by restricting the proportion by which liability may change per year, both upwards and downwards
- translation of axes — the process of replacing the axes in a Cartesian coordinate system with a new set of axes, parallel to the first, used to write equations of curves not centered about the origin.
- transparent context — an expression in which any term may be replaced by another with the same reference without changing its truth-value
- tricks of the trade — expert techniques
- trisodium phosphate — sodium phosphate (def 3).
- tropical depression — an atmospheric low-pressure system originating in the tropics, specifically, a tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained wind speed is 38 miles per hour (62 kilometers per hour) or less.
- turn someone's head — the upper part of the body in humans, joined to the trunk by the neck, containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
- tussock caterpillar — the larva of a tussock moth.
- twist someone's arm — the upper limb of the human body, especially the part extending from the shoulder to the wrist.
- ultramicrochemistry — the branch of microchemistry dealing with minute quantities of material weighing one microgram or less.
- ultrasonic cleaning — the use of ultrasound to vibrate a piece to be cleaned while the piece is immersed in a cleaning fluid. The process produces a very high degree of cleanliness, and is used for jewellery and ornately shaped items
- under consideration — being deliberated
- under the shadow of — in danger of; apparently fated for
- underrepresentation — the act of representing.
- unit of measurement — physical quantity
- university hospital — a hospital that is affiliated with a university. University hospitals provide clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients
- unlawful possession — possession of substances or items (such as drugs or guns) for which criminal sanctions exist because they may not be legally possessed or may not be possessed under certain circumstances
- upper carboniferous — Pennsylvanian (defs 2, 4).
- vaginal intercourse — intercourse involving insertion of the penis into the vagina
- valley of the kings — a valley on the west bank of the Nile near the site of Thebes: the necropolis of many of the kings and queens of the 18th and 19th dynasties of ancient Egypt, c1350–c1200 b.c.
- verdigris toadstool — a basidiomycetous fungus, Stropharia aeruginosa, having a distinctive and unusual blue-green cap and paler shaggy stem
- versa module europa — (hardware) (VME) A flexible open-ended bus system which makes use of the Eurocard standard. VME was introduced in 1981 by Motorola, Philips, Thompson, and Mostek. It was intended to be a flexible environment supporting a variety of computing intensive tasks, and has become a rather popular protocol in the computer industry. It is defined by the IEEE standard 1014-1987.
- vicariate apostolic — a district under the jurisdiction of a vicar apostolic.
- volumetric analysis — determination of the concentration, by volume, of a substance in a solution, as by titration.
- wage-push inflation — an inflationary trend caused by wage increases that in turn cause rises in production costs and prices.
- wandering albatross — a large albatross, Diomedea exulans, of southern waters, having the plumage mostly white with dark markings on the upper parts.
- wash one's hands of — the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb.
- wassermann antibody — reagin (def 1).
- wassermann reaction — a diagnostic test for syphilis using the fixation of a complement by the serum of a syphilitic individual.
- waste disposal unit — an electrically operated fitment in the plughole of a kitchen sink that breaks up food refuse so that it goes down the waste pipe
- waste heat recovery — the use of heat that is produced in a thermodynamic cycle, as in a furnace, combustion engine, etc, in another process, such as heating feedwater or air
- waste not, want not — The expression waste not, want not means that if you do not use too much of something now you will have some left later when you need it.