16-letter words containing c, o, s, a, t
- stop-loss clause — a limitation on the amount of loss sustained by the insured without compensation in a given period.
- storage capacity — amount of room or space
- string orchestra — an orchestra consisting only of violins, violas, cellos, and double basses
- studentification — the renting of particular accommodation exclusively to students
- subcartilaginous — partially or incompletely cartilaginous.
- subjectification — to make subjective.
- subtropical high — one of several highs, as the Azores and Pacific highs, that prevail over the oceans at latitudes of about 30 degrees N and S. Also called subtropical anticyclone. Compare high (def 37).
- succession state — any of a number of usually new states that are established in or expand over the territory formerly ruled by one large state
- summa theologica — a philosophical and theological work (1265–74) by St. Thomas Aquinas, consisting of an exposition of Christian doctrine.
- summer complaint — an acute condition of diarrhea, occurring during the hot summer months chiefly in infants and children, caused by bacterial contamination of food and associated with poor hygiene.
- superfecundation — the fertilization of two or more ova discharged at the same ovulation by successive acts of sexual intercourse.
- superunification — a theory intended to describe the electromagnetic force, the strong force, the weak force, and gravity as a single, unified force.
- supporting actor — performer: not lead
- suspense account — an account in which items are temporarily entered until their final disposition is determined.
- syncategorematic — Traditional Logic. of or relating to a word that is part of a categorical proposition but is not a term, as all, some, is.
- system on a chip — A system on a chip combines most of a system's elements on a single integrated circuit or chip.
- systematic error — a persistent error that cannot be attributed to chance.
- take one's place — to take up one's usual or specified position
- tandem computers — (company) A US computer manufacturer. Quarterly sales $544M, profits $49M (Aug 1994).
- teachers college — a four-year college offering courses for the training of primary and secondary school teachers and granting the bachelor's degree and often advanced degrees.
- technical school — college of further and vocational education
- ten commandments — Bible: instructions given to Moses
- tension headache — a headache caused by muscle tension resulting from stress or overwork
- the black forest — a hilly wooded region of SW Germany, in Baden-Württemberg: a popular resort area
- the cotton state — a nickname for Alabama
- the creole state — a nickname for Louisiana
- the eastern bloc — (formerly) the Soviet bloc
- the scots guards — a regiment of Guards Division of the British Army which dates back to 1642
- the state sector — the part of the economy that is controlled by the state
- thermal constant — a quantity that is considered invariable throughout a series of calculations relating to the heat of bodies
- thermoplasticity — soft and pliable when heated, as some plastics, without any change of the inherent properties.
- thioarsenic acid — any of three hypothetical acids, H3AsS4, HAsS3, and H4As2S7, known only in the forms of their salts
- to act one's age — If someone tells you to act your age, they are telling you to behave in a way that is suitable for someone your age, because they think you are behaving in a childish way.
- to call it quits — If you say that you are going to call it quits, you mean that you have decided to stop doing something or being involved in something.
- to change places — If you change places with another person, you start being in their situation or role, and they start being in yours.
- to coin a phrase — You say 'to coin a phrase' to show that you realize you are making a pun or using a cliché.
- to compare notes — If you compare notes with someone on a particular subject, you talk to them and find out whether their opinion, information, or experience is the same as yours.
- to cut both ways — If you say that something cuts both ways, you mean that it can have two opposite effects, or can have both good and bad effects.
- to keep a secret — If you say that someone can keep a secret, you mean that they can be trusted not to tell other people a secret that you have told them.
- to lose track of — If you lose track of someone or something, you no longer know where they are or what is happening.
- to move a muscle — If you say that someone did not move a muscle, you mean that they stayed absolutely still.
- to pass the buck — If you pass the buck, you refuse to accept responsibility for something, and say that someone else is responsible.
- to rest in peace — If you express the wish that a dead person may rest in peace, you are showing respect and sympathy for him or her. 'Rest in peace' or 'RIP' is also sometimes written on gravestones.
- to stake a claim — If you stake a claim, you say that something is yours or that you have a right to it.
- tobacco industry — business of selling smoking products
- topical-sentence — a sentence that expresses the essential idea of a paragraph or larger section, usually appearing at the beginning.
- topsail schooner — a sailing vessel fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts with square sails above the foresail, and often with a square sail before the foresail.
- torricelli's law — the law that states that the speed of flow of a liquid from an orifice is equal to the speed that it would attain if falling freely a distance equal to the height of the free surface of the liquid above the orifice.
- toulouse-lautrec — Henri Marie Raymond de [ahn-ree ma-ree re-mawn duh] /ɑ̃ˈri maˈri rɛˈmɔ̃ də/ (Show IPA), 1864–1901, French painter and lithographer.
- tracking station — a facility equipped with instrumentation for following the flight path of, communicating with, and collecting data from a rocket or spacecraft.