16-letter words containing a, u, s, o
- sales automation — Sales Force Automation
- sandstone quarry — a quarry from which sand is extracted
- santiago de cuba — a region in Ecuador, E of the Andes: the border long disputed by Peru.
- saturation level — carrying capacity.
- saturation point — the point at which a substance will receive no more of another substance in solution, chemical combination, etc.
- save as you earn — (in Britain) a savings scheme which offers a tax-free bonus and allows employees to buy shares in the company they work for at a fixed price
- sawn-off shotgun — A sawn-off shotgun is a shotgun on which the barrel has been cut short. Guns like this are often used by criminals because they can be easily hidden.
- saxo grammaticus — c1150–1206? Danish historian and poet.
- scar tissue code — (humour, programming) Old code that is commented out but still included in the current release.
- scarborough lily — a plant, Vallota speciosa, of the amaryllis family, native to southern Africa, having clusters of funnel-shaped, scarlet flowers.
- schouten islands — a group of islands belonging to Papua New Guinea, in the Pacific Oceans, off the N coast of New Guinea.
- sclerenchymatous — supporting or protective tissue composed of thickened, dry, and hardened cells.
- sebaceous glands — any of the cutaneous glands that secrete oily matter for lubricating hair and skin.
- secondary colour — a colour formed by mixing two primary colours
- secondary source — next after the first in order, place, time, etc.
- secondary tissue — tissue derived from cambium.
- self-cultivation — the act or art of cultivating.
- self-exculpatory — intended to excuse oneself from blame or guilt
- self-humiliation — an act or instance of humiliating or being humiliated.
- self-lubrication — the process of becoming lubricated without external factors
- self-stimulation — to rouse to action or effort, as by encouragement or pressure; spur on; incite: to stimulate his interest in mathematics.
- self-subjugation — the act, fact, or process of subjugating, or bringing under control; enslavement: The subjugation of the American Indians happened across the country.
- semi-mountainous — abounding in mountains: a mountainous wilderness.
- session musician — a studio musician, esp one who works freelance
- sexual deviation — a type of mental disorder characterized by a preference for or obsession with unusual sexual practices, as pedophilia, sadomasochism, or exhibitionism.
- sexual relations — sexual intercourse; coitus.
- sexual selection — a special type of natural selection in which the sexes acquire distinct forms either because the members of one sex choose mates with particular features or because in the competition for mates among the members of one sex only those with certain traits succeed.
- shakedown cruise — extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.
- shared resources — the sharing of peripherals among several terminals
- shotgun marriage — a wedding occasioned or precipitated by pregnancy.
- shoulder harness — the part of a seat belt that goes over the shoulder and diagonally across the chest.
- show cause order — a court order issued to a party in a lawsuit, directing that party to appear to give reasons why a certain action should not be put into effect by the court.
- show-me attitude — a sceptical frame of mind
- single occupancy — a type of travel accommodation, as at a hotel, for one person in a room.
- situation comedy — a comedy drama, especially a television series made up of discrete episodes about the same group of characters, as members of a family.
- situation ethics — a view of ethics that deprecates general moral principles while emphasizing the source of moral judgments in the distinctive characters of specific situations.
- snoqualmie falls — falls of the Snoqualmie River, in W Washington. 270 feet (82 meters) high.
- social evolution — the gradual development of society and social forms, institutions, etc., usually through a series of peaceful stages. Compare revolution (def 2).
- social exclusion — Social exclusion is the act of making certain groups of people within a society feel isolated and unimportant.
- social inclusion — Social inclusion is the act of making all groups of people within a society feel valued and important.
- social insurance — any of various forms of insurance in which a government is an insurer, especially such insurance that provides assistance to disabled or unemployed workers and to aged persons.
- social structure — structure (def 9).
- sodium bisulfate — a colorless crystalline compound, NaHSO 4 , soluble in water: used in dyeing, in the manufacture of cement, paper, soap, and an acid-type cleaner.
- sodium carbonate — Also called soda ash. an anhydrous, grayish-white, odorless, water-soluble powder, Na 2 CO 3 , usually obtained by the Solvay process and containing about 1 percent of impurities consisting of sulfates, chlorides, and bicarbonates of sodium: used in the manufacture of glass, ceramics, soaps, paper, petroleum products, sodium salts, as a cleanser, for bleaching, and in water treatment.
- sodium cyclamate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, NaC 6 NH 1 2 SO 3 , that has been used as a sweetening agent: banned by the FDA in 1970.
- 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 perborate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, NaBO 2 ⋅3H 2 O or NaBO 3 ⋅4H 2 O, used chiefly as a bleaching agent and antiseptic.
- 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 brown sugar — a type of moist sugar made by coating white sugar with dark molasses