16-letter words containing d, e, s, p
- petrified forest — a national park in E Arizona, containing petrified coniferous trees about 170 000 000 years old
- 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.
- 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.
- pico de sao tome — an island in the Gulf of Guinea, off the W coast of Gabon, just N of the equator: the larger component of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. 318 sq. mi. (824 sq. km).
- picture postcard — postcard (def 1).
- piece d'occasion — something prepared or used for a special occasion.
- pierce's disease — a disease of grapes caused by a rickettsialike organism, characterized by dwarfing of vines, mottling of woody tissues, and plant death.
- pins and needles — a tingly, prickly sensation in a limb that is recovering from numbness.
- play one's cards — to carry out one's plans; take action (esp in the phrase play one's cards right)
- pleased as punch — the chief male character in a Punch-and-Judy show.
- pocket billiards — pool2 (def 1).
- 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.
- polycondensation — formation of a polymer by chemical condensation with the elimination of a small molecule, such as water.
- ponderosa (pine) — a yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa) of W North America, valued for its timber
- portuguese india — a former Portuguese overseas territory on the W coast of India, consisting of the districts of Gôa, Daman, and Diu: annexed by India December 1961. Capital: Gôa.
- posigrade rocket — an auxiliary rocket used to separate the sections of a multistage rocket, fired in the direction of flight.
- possession order — (in Britain) a court order that entitles a landlord legally to evict a tenant or squatter and regain possession of the property
- postcode lottery — a situation in which the standard of medical care, education, etc, received by the public varies from area to area, depending on the funding policies of various health boards, local authorities, etc
- postindependence — Also, independency. the state or quality of being independent.
- potassium iodide — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, KI, having a bitter saline taste: used chiefly in the manufacture of photographic emulsions, as a laboratory reagent, in the preparation of Gram's solution for biological staining, and in medicine as an expectorant and to treat thyroid conditions.
- predispositional — the fact or condition of being predisposed: a predisposition to think optimistically.
- premier division — a football or soccer league division consisting of the top ten Scottish football teams
- prescription pad — a pad of prescriptions used by doctors, etc
- presence of mind — a calm state of mind that allows one to think clearly or act effectively in an emergency.
- preserved ginger — fresh ginger preserved in syrup and used in cooking, esp desserts
- pressure welding — the welding together of two objects by holding them together under pressure.
- pressure-treated — (of wood) treated with a chemical or chemicals applied under pressure to reduce such problems as insect infestation, decay, and rotting.
- pressurized suit — an airtight suit that can be inflated to maintain approximately normal atmospheric pressure on a person in space or at high altitudes.
- prestidigitation — sleight of hand; legerdemain.
- preunderstanding — to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend: to understand Spanish; I didn't understand your question.
- prevost d'exiles — Antoine François [ahn-twan frahn-swa] /ɑ̃ˈtwan frɑ̃ˈswa/ (Show IPA), ("Abbé Prévost") 1697–1763, French novelist.
- 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
- pride oneself on — to be proud of
- printer's reader — a person employed to read proofs and indicate errors
- process industry — business of treating raw materials
- processed cheese — a mass-produced product made of one or more types of cheeses that have been heated and mixed with emulsifiers, colorings, flavorings, etc., primarily to retard spoilage and enhance spreadability at reduced cost.
- prometheus bound — a tragedy (c457 b.c.) by Aeschylus.
- promiscuous mode — (networking) Where a node on a network accepts all packets, regardless of their destination address.
- proteus syndrome — a condition caused by malfunction in cell growth, in which bone and flesh tissue overgrow in localized areas of the body
- pseudo-dionysius — flourished c4th or 5th century a.d, author of a number of mystical works: identified, during the Middle Ages, with Dionysius the Areopagite.
- pseudo-isidorian — of or relating to the collection of documents of the 9th century a.d. that consist chiefly of the Decretals, attributed to Isidore, archbishop of Seville, a.d. 600–36, and that were rejected as spurious in the 15th century.
- pseudo-patriotic — of, like, suitable for, or characteristic of a patriot.
- pseudo-political — of, relating to, or concerned with politics: political writers.
- pseudo-realistic — interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real or practical: a realistic estimate of costs; a realistic planner.
- pseudo-religious — of, relating to, or concerned with religion: a religious holiday.
- pseudo-scientist — any of various methods, theories, or systems, as astrology, psychokinesis, or clairvoyance, considered as having no scientific basis.
- pseudo-spiritual — of, relating to, or consisting of spirit; incorporeal.
- pseudocopulation — pollination of plants, esp orchids, by male insects while attempting to mate with flowers that resemble the female insect
- 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.