16-letter words containing d, e, h, i
- phase difference — the difference between two sinusoidally varying quantities that have the same frequency, measured either as an angle or a time
- phase modulation — radio transmission in which the carrier wave is modulated by changing its phase to transmit the amplitude and pitch of the signal.
- photoperiodicity — the response, as affecting growth or reproduction, of an organism to the length of exposure to light in a 24-hour period.
- 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.
- phytoremediation — a process of decontaminating soil or water by using plants and trees to absorb or break down pollutants.
- pithecanthropoid — of, relating to, or resembling the former genus Pithecanthropus or one of its members.
- point de hongrie — flame stitch.
- 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.
- 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
- pseudohemophilia — a clotting disorder caused by abnormal factor VIII activity, and characterized by a prolonged bleeding time but without the delayed coagulation time of hemophilia.
- pseudohistorical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- psychic distance — the degree of emotional detachment maintained toward a person, group of people, event, etc.
- put in the shade — to appear better than (another); surpass
- put the skids to — to thwart or cause to fail
- 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.
- radio microphone — a microphone incorporating a radio transmitter so that the user can move around freely
- ranikhet disease — Newcastle disease.
- rear-wheel drive — a layout in motor vehicles which places the engine at the front and the driven wheels at the rear
- redbank whiteoak — a city in S Tennessee.
- registered share — a stock registered to the owner's name
- residential home — a home with social-work supervision for people who need more than just housing accommodation, such as esp the elderly, and also children in care or mentally handicapped adults
- rhode island red — one of an American breed of chickens having dark reddish-brown feathers and producing brown eggs.
- richmond heights — a city in E Missouri, near St. Louis.
- right-hand drive — A right-hand drive vehicle has its steering wheel on the right side. It is designed to be driven in countries such as Britain, Japan, and Australia where people drive on the left side of the road.
- round the wrekin — the long way round
- saddle stitching — to sew, bind, or decorate with a saddle stitch.
- schlieren method — a method for detecting regions of differing densities in a clear fluid by photographing a beam of light passed obliquely through it.
- schneider trophy — a trophy for air racing between seaplanes of any nation, first presented by Jacques Schneider (1879–1928) in 1913; won outright by Britain in 1931
- school-age child — a child who is old enough to go to school
- schouten islands — a group of islands belonging to Papua New Guinea, in the Pacific Oceans, off the N coast of New Guinea.
- schweizerdeutsch — Schwyzertütsch.
- scottish borders — a council area in SE Scotland, on the English border: created in 1996, it has the same boundaries as the former Borders Region: it is mainly hilly, with agriculture (esp sheep farming) the chief economic activity. Administrative centre: Newtown St Boswells. Pop: 108 280 (2003 est). Area: 4734 sq km (1827 sq miles)
- second childhood — senility; dotage.
- sex-and-shopping — (of a novel) belonging to a genre of novel in which the central character, a woman, has a number of sexual encounters, and the author mentions the name of many up-market products
- shakedown cruise — extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.
- shared ownership — (in Britain) a form of house purchase whereby the purchaser buys a proportion of the dwelling, usually from a local authority or housing association, and rents the rest
- sheffield shield — (in Australia) the former name for the trophy of the annual interstate cricket competition
- shepherd's plaid — a checkered black and white pattern
- shoot-to-disable — of or relating to shooting by soldiers or police that is intended to disable rather than kill
- short ski method — a way of learning to ski, using short skis
- shorthand writer — a person trained to write in shorthand
- shortsightedness — unable to see far; nearsighted; myopic.
- shot in the dark — a discharge of a firearm, bow, etc.
- shoulder surfing — a form of credit-card fraud in which the perpetrator stands behind and looks over the shoulder of the victim as he or she withdraws money from an automated teller machine, memorizes the card details, and later steals the card
- show-me attitude — a sceptical frame of mind
- sir herbert read — George, 1733–98, American political leader: served in the Continental Congress 1774–77.
- sleeping draught — any drink containing a drug or agent that induces sleep
- sodium hydroxide — a white, deliquescent, water-soluble solid, NaOH, usually in the form of lumps, sticks, chips, or pellets, that upon solution in water generates heat: used chiefly in the manufacture of other chemicals, rayon, film, soap, as a laboratory reagent, and in medicine as a caustic.
- sodium methylate — a white, free-flowing, flammable powder, CH 3 ONa, decomposed by water to sodium hydroxide and methyl alcohol: used chiefly in organic synthesis.
- sodium pentothal — the sodium salt of thiopental sodium.