16-letter words containing c, h, e, l
- photoluminescent — luminescence induced by the absorption of infrared radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation.
- phylogenetically — the development or evolution of a particular group of organisms.
- physical address — (memory management) The address presented to a computer's main memory in a virtual memory system, in contrast to the virtual address which is the address generated by the CPU. A memory management unit translates virtual addresses into physical addresses.
- physical fitness — good physical condition
- physical science — any of the natural sciences dealing with inanimate matter or with energy, as physics, chemistry, and astronomy.
- physical therapy — the treatment or management of physical disability, malfunction, or pain by exercise, massage, hydrotherapy, etc., without the use of medicines, surgery, or radiation.
- pitch-cone angle — (in a bevel gear) the apex angle of the truncated cone (pitch cone) which forms the reference surface on which the teeth of a bevel gear are cut
- place in the sun — (often initial capital letter) the star that is the central body of the solar system, around which the planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat: its mean distance from the earth is about 93 million miles (150 million km), its diameter about 864,000 miles (1.4 million km), and its mass about 330,000 times that of the earth; its period of surface rotation is about 26 days at its equator but longer at higher latitudes.
- place of worship — religious house: church, temple
- plainclothes man — a detective or police officer who wears civilian clothes while on duty
- player character — a character in a role-playing game or video game who is controlled by the person playing the game. Abbreviation: PC. Compare nonplayer character.
- pleased as punch — the chief male character in a Punch-and-Judy show.
- plutarch's lives — (Parallel Lives) a collection (a.d. 105–15) by Plutarch of short biographies of the leading political figures of ancient Greece and Rome.
- poisoned chalice — If you refer to a job or an opportunity as a poisoned chalice, you mean that it seems to be very attractive but you believe it will lead to failure.
- 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.
- postencephalitic — inflammation of the substance of the brain.
- price leadership — the setting of the price of a product or service by a dominant firm at a level that competitors can match, in order to avoid a price war
- process theology — a form of theology that emphasizes the close relation of human beings, nature, and God.
- pseudohistorical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- psychotechnology — the body of knowledge, theories, and techniques developed for understanding and influencing individual, group, and societal behavior in specified situations.
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- pyruvic aldehyde — a yellow, liquid compound, C 3 H 4 O 2 , containing both an aldehyde and a ketone group, usually obtained in a polymeric form: used chiefly in organic synthesis.
- rape of the lock — a mock-epic poem (1712) by Alexander Pope.
- re-entry vehicle — the section of a spacecraft or ballistic missile designed to return to earth.
- recovery vehicle — a truck used to transport motor vehicles which have broken down to another location (generally a repair garage), or to recover vehicles which are no longer on a drivable surface
- recycling scheme — a scheme enabling the public to recycle waste
- research library — a general or specialized library that collects materials for use in intensive research projects.
- rhynchocephalian — belonging or pertaining to the Rhynchocephalia, an order of lizardlike reptiles that are extinct except for the tuatara.
- riau archipelago — a group of islands belonging to Indonesia, off the SE coast of the Malay Peninsula, at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca. 36,510 sq. mi. (94,561 sq. km).
- rochelle powders — (not in technical use) Seidlitz powders.
- round lake beach — a town in NE Illinois.
- run the blockade — to go past or through a blockade
- saddle stitching — to sew, bind, or decorate with a saddle stitch.
- schaumburg-lippe — a former state in NW Germany.
- scheduled castes — (in India) the official name given to the lower castes that are now protected by the government and offered special concessions.
- schlieren method — a method for detecting regions of differing densities in a clear fluid by photographing a beam of light passed obliquely through it.
- schmaltz herring — herring caught just before spawning, when it has much fat
- school committee — (in New Zealand) a parent group selected to support a primary school
- school inspector — an official whose job is to inspect schools and to report on their quality and conditions
- school-age child — a child who is old enough to go to school
- schoolteacherish — showing characteristics thought to be typical of a schoolteacher, as strictness and primness.
- 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.
- scotch blackface — one of a Scottish breed of mountain sheep having a black face and growing long, coarse wool.
- scrovegni chapel — Arena Chapel.
- second childhood — senility; dotage.
- secondary phloem — phloem derived from the cambium during secondary growth.
- secondary school — a high school or a school of corresponding grade, ranking between a primary school and a college or university.
- secular humanism — any set of beliefs that promotes human values without specific allusion to religious doctrines.
- seleucia trachea — an ancient city in SE Asia Minor, on the River Calycadnus (modern Goksu Nehri): captured by the Turks in the 13th century; site of present-day Silifke (Turkey)