19-letter words containing c, o, r, e, l, a
- oceanus procellarum — (Ocean of Storms) the largest dark plain on the face of the moon, in the second and third quadrants: about 2 million square miles (5.2 million sq. km).
- olive-backed thrush — Swainson's thrush.
- optical double star — two stars that appear as one if not viewed through a telescope with adequate magnification, such as two stars that are separated by a great distance but are nearly in line with each other and an observer (optical double star) or those that are relatively close together and comprise a single physical system (physical double star)
- optical mark reader — (hardware) (OMR) A special scanning device that can read carefully placed pencil marks on specially designed documents. OMR is frequenty used in forms, questionnaires, and answer-sheets.
- over-centralization — the act or fact of centralizing; fact of being centralized.
- over-commercialized — to make commercial in character, methods, or spirit.
- oxyacetylene burner — a blowpipe for cutting or welding metals at high temperatures
- paradichlorobenzene — a white, crystalline, volatile, water-insoluble solid, C 6 H 4 Cl 2 , of the benzene series, having a penetrating odor: used chiefly as a moth repellent.
- parallel processing — extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging: parallel rows of trees.
- parallel projection — a projection from one plane to a second plane in which the lines joining points on the first plane and corresponding images are parallel.
- parthenogenetically — development of an egg without fertilization.
- particle dispersoid — A particle dispersoid is a suspension of solid particles in a gas.
- particle separation — a rule that moves the particle of a phrasal verb, thus deriving a sentence like He looked the answer up from a structure that also underlies He looked up the answer
- particle technology — Particle technology is knowledge and study which relates to particles, and is used in industry.
- pastoral counseling — the use of psychotherapeutic techniques by trained members of the clergy to assist parishioners who seek help for personal or emotional problems.
- paumotu archipelago — Tuamotu Archipelago.
- peroxysulfuric acid — persulfuric acid (def 1).
- personal watercraft — a jet-propelled boat ridden like a motorcycle.
- phenylthiocarbamide — a crystalline, slightly water-soluble solid, C 6 H 5 NHCSNH 2 , that is either tasteless or bitter, depending upon the heredity of the taster, and is used in medical genetics and as a diagnostic.
- pileated woodpecker — a large, black-and-white American woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, having a prominent red crest.
- pilgrimage of grace — a rebellion in 1536 in N England against the Reformation and Henry VIII's government
- pillars of hercules — the two promontories at the E end of the Strait of Gibraltar: the Rock of Gibraltar on the European side and the Jebel Musa on the African side; according to legend, formed by Hercules
- plastic deformation — In plastic deformation a material changes shape when a stress is applied to it and does not go back to its original state when the stress is removed.
- pneumoencephalogram — an encephalogram made after the replacement of the cerebrospinal fluid by air or gas, rarely used since the development of the CAT scanner.
- police headquarters — building where police are stationed
- political geography — the branch of human geography that deals with the relationship between political processes and spatial structures (regions, territories, etc)
- politically correct — marked by or adhering to a typically progressive orthodoxy on issues involving especially ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or ecology: The actor’s comment about unattractive women was not politically correct. The CEO feels that people who care about being politically correct are overly sensitive. Abbreviations: PC, P.C.
- post-and-rail fence — a fence constructed of upright wooden posts with horizontal timber slotted through it
- preproduction trial — a trial to test a prototype of a product before the product goes into full-scale production
- pride-of-california — a shrubby plant, Lathyrus splendens, of the legume family, native to southern California, having showy clusters of pale rose-pink, violet, or magenta flowers and large, smooth, beaked pods.
- prismatic telescope — a telescope having an eyepiece at the side or top equipped with a reflecting prism, used for taking sights at steep angles.
- procedural language — (language) Any programming language in which the programmer specifies an explicit sequences of steps to follow to produce a result (an algorithm). The term should not be confused with "imperative language" - a language that specifies explicit manipulation of state. An example (non-imperative) procedural language is LOGO, which specifies sequences of steps to perform but does not have an internal state. Other procedural languages include Basic, Pascal, C, and Modula-2. Both procedural and imperative languages are in contrast to declarative languages, in which the programmer specifies neither explicit steps nor explicit state manipulation.
- professional advice — advice given by someone trained in a particular and relevant profession or job
- professional school — a postgraduate school or college which trains students for a particular profession
- property speculator — a person who takes part in property speculation
- pseudo-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- puerperal psychosis — a mental disorder sometimes occurring in women after childbirth, characterized by deep depression, delusions of the child's death, and homicidal feelings towards the child
- quantum electronics — the application of quantum mechanics and quantum optics to the study and design of electronic devices
- radioactive fallout — the settling to the ground of airborne particles ejected into the atmosphere from the earth by explosions, eruptions, forest fires, etc., especially such settling from nuclear explosions (radioactive fallout) Compare rainout.
- radiopharmaceutical — any of a number of radioactive drugs used diagnostically or therapeutically.
- raise one's hackles — one of the long, slender feathers on the neck or saddle of certain birds, as the domestic rooster, much used in making artificial flies for anglers.
- rake over the coals — a black or dark-brown combustible mineral substance consisting of carbonized vegetable matter, used as a fuel. Compare anthracite, bituminous coal, lignite.
- rancho palos verdes — a town in SW California.
- rap on the knuckles — a mild reprimand or light sentence
- rec room (or hall) — recreation room (or hall)
- recessional moraine — a moraine marking a temporary halt in the general retreat of a glacier.
- reciprocal exchange — an unincorporated association formed so that its members can participate in reciprocal insurance.
- reciprocal leveling — leveling between two widely separated points in which observations are made in both directions to eliminate the effects of atmospheric refraction and the curvature of the earth.
- reciprocity failure — a failure of the two exposure variables, light intensity and exposure time, to behave in a reciprocal fashion at very high or very low values
- reconceptualization — to form into a concept; make a concept of.