17-letter words containing c, h, o, t, a
- personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
- 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.
- phantom pregnancy — the occurrence of signs of pregnancy, such as enlarged abdomen and absence of menstruation, when no embryo is present, due to hormonal imbalance
- phenethyl alcohol — a colorless, viscous, slightly water-soluble liquid, C 8 H 1 0 O, having a faint roselike odor: used chiefly in perfumery.
- phenyl isocyanate — a liquid reagent, C 7 H 5 NO, having an unpleasant, irritating odor: used chiefly for identifying alcohols and amines.
- philanthropically — of, pertaining to, engaged in, or characterized by philanthropy; benevolent: a philanthropic foundation.
- phonetic alphabet — an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.
- photodissociation — the dissociation or breakdown of a chemical compound by radiant energy.
- photoreactivation — a process that repairs DNA damaged by ultraviolet light using an enzyme that requires visible light.
- phototherapeutics — the branch of therapeutics that deals with the curative use of light rays.
- photovoltaic cell — a photocell in which an electromotive force is generated by a photovoltaic effect.
- pincushion cactus — any of various low-growing, spiny cacti of the genus Mammillaria.
- pitching rotation — the regular, scheduled succession of starting pitchers designated by a manager: a four-man pitching rotation in September.
- platinic chloride — chloroplatinic acid.
- pocket battleship — a small heavily armed and armored warship serving as a battleship because of limitations imposed by treaty.
- point of purchase — designating or in use at a retail outlet where an item can be purchased; point-of-sale: point-of-purchase displays to entice the buyer.
- point-of-purchase — designating or in use at a retail outlet where an item can be purchased; point-of-sale: point-of-purchase displays to entice the buyer.
- polioencephalitis — a disease characterized by inflammation of the gray matter of the brain.
- pre-technological — of or relating to technology; relating to science and industry.
- prothoracic gland — either of a pair of endocrine glands in the anterior thorax of some insects, functioning to promote the series of molts from hatching to adulthood.
- pseudo-historical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- pseudo-humanistic — a person having a strong interest in or concern for human welfare, values, and dignity.
- psychodiagnostics — the study and evaluation of character or personality in terms of behavioral and anatomical traits, as gesture, posture and physiognomy.
- psychoeducational — designating or of psychological methods, as intelligence tests, used in evaluating learning ability
- psychotherapeutic — psychotherapy.
- pythagorean scale — the major scale as derived acoustically by Pythagoras from the perfect fifth.
- quick on the draw — having fast reflexes
- read the riot act — an English statute of 1715 providing that if 12 or more persons assemble unlawfully and riotously, to the disturbance of the public peace, and refuse to disperse upon proclamation they shall be considered guilty of felony.
- respiratory chain — a series of mitochondrial proteins that transport electrons of hydrogen, released in the Krebs cycle, from acetyl coenzyme A to inhaled oxygen to form H 2 O: the energy released in the process is conserved as ATP.
- reticulate python — a python, Python reticulatus, of southeastern Asia and the East Indies, sometimes growing to a length of 32 feet (10 meters): usually considered to be the largest snake in the world.
- rhetorical stress — stress required by the meaning of a line, as distinguished from that required by the meter.
- rheumatoid factor — an antibody that is found in the blood of many persons afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis and that reacts against globulins in the blood.
- roll with a punch — to move in the same direction as a punch thrown at one so as to lessen its force
- roman catholicism — the faith, practice, and system of government of the Roman Catholic Church.
- rush-hour traffic — the large number of vehicles that move along roads, travelling to or from work at the beginning and end of the working day
- saint christopher — Saint, died a.d. c250, Christian martyr.
- sawatch mountains — range of the Rocky Mountains, in central Colo.: highest peak, Elbert
- saxe-coburg-gotha — a member of the present British royal family, from the establishment of the house in 1901 until 1917 when the family name was changed to Windsor.
- scarlet firethorn — a Eurasian evergreen, thorny shrub, Pyracantha coccinea, of the rose family, having white, hairy flower clusters and bright red berries.
- scattered showers — showers that are scattered across an area, or that occur at intervals throughout the day
- school attendance — a measure of the number of children who attend school and the amount of time they are present
- semidetached mode — (programming) A term used by COCOMO to describe a project development somewhere between organic and embedded. The team members have a mixture of experienced and inexperienced personnel. The software to be developed has some characteristics of both organic and embedded modes. Semidetached software can be as large as 300K DSIs.
- semisophisticated — somewhat sophisticated.
- shirt-tail cousin — a distant cousin
- shoestring tackle — a tackle made around the ankles of the ball carrier.
- shooting practice — practice in shooting for soldiers or other people who shoot guns
- shortcrust pastry — a basic type of pastry that is made with half the quantity of fat to flour, and has a crisp but crumbly texture
- shorter catechism — one of the two catechisms established by the Westminster Assembly in 1647, used chiefly in Presbyterian churches.
- shorthold tenancy — letting of a dwelling for between one and five years at a fair rent
- shouting distance — hailing distance.