15-letter words containing e, c, i, p
- objective prism — a large prism placed in front of the objective lens or mirror of a telescope, allowing the simultaneous acquisition of the spectra of many stars.
- oedipus complex — the unresolved desire of a child for sexual gratification through the parent of the opposite sex, especially the desire of a son for his mother. This involves, first, identification with and, later, hatred for the parent of the same sex, who is considered by the child as a rival.
- office politics — power play in the workplace
- on prescription — If a medicine is available on prescription, you can only get it from a chemist or pharmacist if a doctor gives you a prescription for it.
- open convention — a party convention at which delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choice.
- open-cut mining — mining by excavating from the surface
- opencast mining — mining by excavating from the surface
- opening balance — the amount of money in an account at the start of an accounting period
- operating cycle — the period of time between starting a business and making a profit
- optical printer — a film printer used in making optical effects, consisting basically of a camera that photographs the image with special lenses to enlarge, reduce, distort, etc., and a projector that transfers the image to the print stock, as distinguished from a contact printer.
- optical scanner — the process of interpreting data in printed, handwritten, bar-code, or other visual form by a device (optical scanner or reader) that scans and identifies the data.
- optical storage — optical disk drive
- optoelectronics — the branch of electronics dealing with devices that generate, transform, transmit, or sense optical, infrared, or ultraviolet radiation, as cathode-ray tubes, electroluminescent and liquid crystal displays, lasers, and solar cells.
- oriental carpet — Oriental rug.
- orthopaedic bed — a specially firm bed designed to help correct or ameliorate the discomfort of disorders of the spine and joints
- orthopaedically — in an orthopaedic manner
- out of practice — If you are out of practice at doing something, you have not had much experience of it recently, although you used to do it a lot or be quite good at it.
- outside caliper — a caliper whose legs turn inward so that it can measure outside dimensions, as the diameter of a rod.
- over-capitalise — to fix the total amount of securities of a corporation in excess of the limits set by law or by sound financial policy.
- over-complexity — the state or quality of being complex; intricacy: the complexity of urban life.
- over-compliance — the act of conforming, acquiescing, or yielding.
- over-particular — of or relating to a single or specific person, thing, group, class, occasion, etc., rather than to others or all; special rather than general: one's particular interests in books.
- over-publicized — to give publicity to; bring to public notice; advertise: They publicized the meeting as best they could.
- overapplication — excessive application
- overcapitalized — Simple past tense and past participle of overcapitalize.
- overcapitalizes — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of overcapitalize.
- overconsumption — the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.
- overexpectation — excessive expectation
- overpessimistic — excessively pessimistic or negative in outlook
- overspeculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- pachymeningitis — inflammation of the dura mater of the brain and spinal cord
- pacific madrone — any of several evergreen trees belonging to the genus Arbutus, of the heath family, especially A. menziesii (Pacific madrone) of western North America, having red, flaky bark and bearing edible reddish berries.
- package holiday — a holiday arranged by a travel company in which your travel and accommodation are booked for you
- packet-switched — packet switching
- packing density — a measure of the amount of data that can be held by unit length of a storage medium, such as magnetic tape
- painter's colic — Pathology. lead poisoning causing intense intestinal pain.
- palaeoanthropic — relating to palaeoanthropology
- paleogeophysics — (used with a plural verb) inferred geophysical conditions or processes of designated periods of the geologic past.
- paleolithic man — any of the prehistoric populations of humans, as the Cro-Magnon, living in the late Pliocene and the Pleistocene epochs.
- palliative-care — medical care focused on improving the quality of life of patients with serious illnesses, as by treating symptoms and providing emotional support.
- pan-americanism — the idea or advocacy of a political alliance or union of all the countries of North, Central, and South America.
- paracel islands — a group of uninhabited islets and reefs in the N South China Sea, the subject of territorial claims by China and Vietnam
- paraheliotropic — (of leaves) turning away from light; sun-avoiding
- parallel cousin — a cousin who is the child either of one's mother's sister or of one's father's brother.
- parasiticalness — the condition or characteristic of being parasitic
- parasympathetic — pertaining to that part of the autonomic nervous system consisting of nerves and ganglia that arise from the cranial and sacral regions and function in opposition to the sympathetic system, as in inhibiting heartbeat or contracting the pupil of the eye.
- parenthetically — of, pertaining to, noting, or of the nature of a parenthesis: several unnecessary parenthetic remarks.
- parhelic circle — a white, horizontal band passing through the sun, either incomplete or extending around the horizon, produced by the reflection of the sun's rays from the vertical faces of ice prisms in the atmosphere.
- parking offence — the act of leaving your car somewhere illegally
- parthenogenetic — development of an egg without fertilization.