16-letter words containing c, e, s, o, r
- outside director — a director of a company who is not employed by that company but is often employed by a holding or associated company
- over-consumption — the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.
- over-descriptive — having the quality of describing; characterized by description: a descriptive passage in an essay.
- over-speculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- overcautiousness — the quality or state of being too cautious, wary, or careful
- overcompensating — Present participle of overcompensate.
- overcompensation — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
- overcompensatory — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
- overenthusiastic — full of or characterized by enthusiasm; ardent: He seems very enthusiastic about his role in the play.
- oversubscription — to subscribe for more of than is available, expected, or required: The charity drive was oversubscribed by several thousand dollars.
- pacific sturgeon — a dark gray sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, inhabiting marine and fresh waters along the northwestern coast of North America, valued as a food and sport fish.
- panoramic screen — a very wide screen, as of a television, etc
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- pascal's theorem — the theorem that the lines joining adjacent vertices of a hexagon intersect the same straight line if alternate vertices lie on two intersecting straight lines.
- paterson's curse — a purple-flowered noxious plant, Echium plantagineum, a close relative of viper's bugloss, naturalized in Australia and NZ where its harmfulness to livestock has prompted attempts to limit its spread
- pectoralis major — the larger of the two large chest muscles that assist in movements of the shoulder and upper arm
- pectoralis minor — the smaller of the two large chest muscles that assist in movements of the shoulder and upper arm
- pelican crossing — place to cross road
- people's charter — the principles or movement of a party of political reformers, chiefly workingmen, in England from 1838 to 1848: so called from the document (People's Charter or National Charter) that contained a statement of their principles and demands.
- percussion drill — a drill that is operated by percussion
- performance test — a test requiring little or no use of language, the test materials being designed to elicit manual or behavioral responses rather than verbal ones.
- person of colour — a person who is not White
- personal effects — belongings
- personality cult — deliberately cultivated adulation of a person, esp a political leader
- personnel agency — an agency for placing employable persons in jobs; employment agency.
- pharmacogenetics — the branch of pharmacology that examines the relation of genetic factors to variations in response to drugs.
- pharmacogenomics — the study of human genetic variability in relation to drug action and its application to medical treatment
- pharmacokinetics — the branch of pharmacology that studies the fate of pharmacological substances in the body, as their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.
- phase microscope — a microscope that utilizes the phase differences of light rays transmitted by different portions of an object to create an image in which the details of the object are distinct despite their near-uniformity of refractive index.
- picture postcard — postcard (def 1).
- pincers movement — a military maneuver in which both flanks of an enemy force are attacked with the aim of attaining complete encirclement.
- place of worship — religious house: church, temple
- play one's cards — to carry out one's plans; take action (esp in the phrase play one's cards right)
- pocket billiards — pool2 (def 1).
- pocket secretary — a long, narrow walletlike case, usually of leather and containing pockets for credit and business cards, paper money, etc., and sometimes a notepad and pencil.
- poitou-charentes — a region of W central France, on the Bay of Biscay: mainly low-lying
- police inspector — rank of police officer in the UK
- polyphonic prose — prose characterized by the use of poetic devices, as alliteration, assonance, rhyme, etc., and especially by an emphasis on rhythm not strictly metered.
- posigrade rocket — an auxiliary rocket used to separate the sections of a multistage rocket, fired in the direction of flight.
- post-renaissance — the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art, literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world.
- postcode lottery — a situation in which the standard of medical care, education, etc, received by the public varies from area to area, depending on the funding policies of various health boards, local authorities, etc
- poverty-stricken — suffering from poverty; extremely poor: poverty-stricken refugees.
- practical reason — (in Kantian ethics) reason applied to the problem of action and choice, especially in ethical matters.
- practice session — a period of training that takes place over a set period of time, for example an hour or several hours
- prairie schooner — a type of covered wagon, similar to but smaller than the Conestoga wagon, used by pioneers in crossing the prairies and plains of North America.
- pre-conversation — informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy.
- pre-solicitation — the act of soliciting.
- pre-subscription — a sum of money given or pledged as a contribution, payment, investment, etc.
- precast concrete — ready-formed cement mixture
- precinct station — a police station for police responsible for a district of a city