16-letter words containing a, s, h, t, o
- slap on the back — to congratulate
- smoke inhalation — poisoning of the lungs caused by inhaling large quantities of toxic fumes from a fire
- smooth breathing — a symbol (') used in the writing of Greek to indicate that the initial vowel over which it is placed is unaspirated.
- social gathering — party, get-together
- social pathology — a social factor, as poverty, old age, or crime, that tends to increase social disorganization and inhibit personal adjustment.
- sodium methylate — a white, free-flowing, flammable powder, CH 3 ONa, decomposed by water to sodium hydroxide and methyl alcohol: used chiefly in organic synthesis.
- sodium pentothal — the sodium salt of thiopental sodium.
- sodium phosphate — Also called monobasic sodium phosphate. a white, crystalline, slightly hygroscopic, water-soluble powder, NaH 2 PO 4 , used chiefly in dyeing and in electroplating.
- soft in the head — stupid or foolish
- soft pornography — soft-core pornography.
- sonata da chiesa — an instrumental musical form, common in the Baroque period, that usually consists of four movements alternating between slow and fast.
- sooty shearwater — any of several long-winged seabirds, often used as food, especially Puffinus tenuirostris (short-tailed shearwater) of Australia and Puffinus griseus (sooty shearwater) which breeds in the Southern Hemisphere and winters in the Northern Hemisphere.
- south australian — a state in S Australia. 380,070 sq. mi. (984,380 sq. km). Capital: Adelaide.
- south carolinian — a state in the SE United States, on the Atlantic coast. 31,055 sq. mi. (80,430 sq. km). Capital: Columbia. Abbreviation: SC (for use with zip code), S.C.
- south charleston — a city in W West Virginia.
- south lake tahoe — a city in E California.
- south plainfield — a city in N New Jersey.
- south sea bubble — the financial crash that occurred in 1720 after the South Sea Company had taken over the national debt in return for a monopoly of trade with the South Seas, causing feverish speculation in their stocks
- south vietnamese — of or relating to the former South Vietnam (now part of Vietnam) or its inhabitants
- southern baptist — a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, founded in Augusta, Georgia, in 1845, that is strictly Calvinistic and active in religious publishing and education.
- southern uplands — a hilly region extending across S Scotland: includes the Lowther, Moorfoot, and Lammermuir hills
- spanish omelette — an omelette made by adding green peppers, onions, tomato, etc, to the eggs
- spectroheliogram — a photograph of the sun made with a spectroheliograph.
- speech pathology — the scientific study and treatment of defects, disorders, and malfunctions of speech and voice, as stuttering, lisping, or lalling, and of language disturbances, as aphasia or delayed language acquisition.
- sphygmomanometer — an instrument, often attached to an inflatable air-bladder cuff and used with a stethoscope, for measuring blood pressure in an artery.
- sphygmomanometry — an instrument, often attached to an inflatable air-bladder cuff and used with a stethoscope, for measuring blood pressure in an artery.
- spotted redshank — a sandpiper, Tringa erythropus, which is a large wader with red legs
- st. clair shores — a city in SE Michigan, near Detroit.
- st. john's-bread — carob (def 2).
- stagedoor johnny — a man who often goes to a theater or waits at a stage door to court an actress.
- 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.
- state of the art — the latest and most sophisticated or advanced stage of a technology, art, or science.
- state-of-the-art — the latest and most sophisticated or advanced stage of a technology, art, or science.
- 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.
- steamboat gothic — a florid architectural style suggesting the gingerbread-decorated construction of river boats of the Victorian period.
- stick at nothing — to be prepared to do anything; be unscrupulous or ruthless
- still photograph — a photograph taken from a cinema film which is used for publicity purposes
- 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.
- straight shooter — a person who is forthright and upstanding in behavior.
- streets ahead of — superior to, more advanced than, etc
- string orchestra — an orchestra consisting only of violins, violas, cellos, and double basses
- stroboradiograph — a stroboscopic radiograph.
- subtropical high — one of several highs, as the Azores and Pacific highs, that prevail over the oceans at latitudes of about 30 degrees N and S. Also called subtropical anticyclone. Compare high (def 37).
- sulfamethoxazole — an antimicrobial substance, C 1 0 H 1 1 N 3 O 3 S, used against a variety of susceptible Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms, as in the treatment of certain urinary tract infections and skin infections.
- summa theologica — a philosophical and theological work (1265–74) by St. Thomas Aquinas, consisting of an exposition of Christian doctrine.
- summation method — a method for associating a sum with a divergent series.
- surrogate mother — a person who acts in the place of another person's biological mother.