17-letter words containing c, e, a, s
- on someone's back — criticizing or pestering someone
- on the pig's back — successful; established
- operations centre — a centre where activities of a business, organization, etc, are administrated and take place
- opisthobranchiate — (zoology) Of or pertaining to the Opisthobranchiata.
- optical isomerism — stereoisomerism in which the isomers are identical in molecular weight and most chemical and physical properties but differ in their effect on the rotation of polarized light.
- organ-pipe cactus — a treelike or columnar cactus, Lemaireocereus marginatus, of Mexico, having a central, erect spine surrounded by spreading spines in clusters of five to eight, and funnel-shaped, brownish-purple flowers.
- organic chemistry — the branch of chemistry, originally limited to substances found only in living organisms, dealing with the compounds of carbon.
- orifice discharge — Orifice discharge is a model for calculating how quickly a fluid will come out of a punctured vessel or pipe.
- osculating circle — circle of curvature.
- outside broadcast — An outside broadcast is a radio or television programme that is not recorded or filmed in a studio, but in another building or in the open air.
- over-compensation — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
- over-conservative — disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
- overhead camshaft — a camshaft in an automotive engine that is located in the cylinder head over the engine block rather than in the block. Abbreviation: OHC.
- overreach oneself — to fail because of trying to do more than one can
- oystershell scale — a scale insect, Lepidosaphes ulmi, having a scale shaped like the shell of an oyster, which infests various deciduous trees and shrubs.
- pacific northwest — the region of North America lying north of the Columbia River and west of the Rockies
- pair of compasses — compass (def 7)
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
- papanicolaou test — Pap test.
- paradoxical sleep — REM sleep.
- parcplace systems — (company) A company spun-off from Xerox PARC that developed the original version of VisualWorks.
- parmesan (cheese) — a very hard, dry cheese orig. of Italy, made from skimmed cow's milk and usually grated for sprinkling on pasta, soups, etc.
- particle kinetics — Particle kinetics is the study of the movement of particles and the forces that cause this movement.
- pascal's triangle — a triangular arrangement of the binomial coefficients of the expansion (x + y) n for positive integral values of n.
- passenger traffic — number of passengers
- passive obedience — unquestioning obedience to authority
- paternalistically — the system, principle, or practice of managing or governing individuals, businesses, nations, etc., in the manner of a father dealing benevolently and often intrusively with his children: The employees objected to the paternalism of the old president.
- peaches and cream — If you say that a woman or a girl has a peaches and cream complexion, you mean that she has very clear, smooth, pale skin.
- performance bonus — a monetary bonus paid to staff who have performed well in their job
- performance drugs — the drugs that are taken illegally by athletes to enhance their sporting performance
- pernicious anemia — Pernicious anemia is a very severe blood disease.
- perpetual spinach — a variety of spinach that keeps producing edible leaves
- personal computer — a compact computer that uses a microprocessor and is designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC.
- personal distance — personal space.
- personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
- personnel carrier — a vehicle used for transporting troops
- perspicaciousness — having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning: to exhibit perspicacious judgment.
- peterloo massacre — an incident at St Peter's Fields, Manchester, in 1819 in which a radical meeting was broken up by a cavalry charge, resulting in about 500 injuries and 11 deaths
- petrarchan sonnet — a sonnet form popularized by Petrarch, consisting of an octave with the rhyme scheme abbaabba and of a sestet with one of several rhyme schemes, as cdecde or cdcdcd.
- phenyl isocyanate — a liquid reagent, C 7 H 5 NO, having an unpleasant, irritating odor: used chiefly for identifying alcohols and amines.
- phototherapeutics — the branch of therapeutics that deals with the curative use of light rays.
- physical exercise — movements and activities done to keep your body healthy or make it stronger
- physical medicine — the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury by means of physical agents, as manipulation, massage, exercise, heat, or water.
- physical pendulum — any apparatus consisting of a body of possibly irregular shape allowed to rotate freely about a horizontal axis on which it is pivoted (distinguished from simple pendulum).
- picture messaging — Picture messaging is the sending of photographs or pictures from one mobile phone to another.
- pinckney's treaty — an agreement in 1795 between Spain and the U.S. by which Spain recognized the 31st parallel as the southern boundary of the U.S. and permitted free navigation of the Mississippi to American ships.
- pitot-static tube — a device combining a Pitot tube with a static tube: used to measure airspeed.
- plastic explosive — a puttylike substance that contains an explosive charge, and is detonated by fuse or by remote control: used especially by terrorists and in guerrilla warfare.
- pluvius insurance — insurance against rain