16-letter words containing e, c, l
- shirring elastic — elastic used for shirring
- shopping channel — television station used to sell goods
- shopping complex — a shopping centre
- showy crab apple — a large Japanese bush or tree, Malus floribunda, of the rose family, having red fruit and rose-colored flowers that fade to white.
- sicilian vespers — a general massacre of the French in Sicily by the local population, begun at the sound of the vesper bell on Easter Monday, 1282.
- silk-cotton tree — any of several spiny trees belonging to the genus Ceiba, of the bombax family, having palmately compound leaves and seeds surrounded by silk cotton, especially C. pentandra, from which kapok is obtained.
- silky flycatcher — any of several passerine birds of the family Ptilogonatidae, of the southwestern U.S. to Panama, related to the waxwings.
- silver-lace vine — a hardy, twining, woody plant, Polygonum auberti, of the buckwheat family, native to western China and Tibet, having greenish-white, fragrant flowers in drooping clusters.
- simonyi, charles — Charles Simonyi
- simply-connected — (of a set or domain) having a connected complement.
- single occupancy — a type of travel accommodation, as at a hotel, for one person in a room.
- single precision — using one word rather than two or more to represent a number.
- slap in the face — smack on the cheek
- slap on the back — to congratulate
- slave labor camp — labor camp (def 1).
- sleep-wake cycle — Physiology. the species-specific biological pattern of alternating sleep and wakefulness, in humans roughly 8 hours of nocturnal sleep and 16 hours of daytime activity.
- smack one's lips — If you smack your lips, you open and close your mouth noisily, especially before or after eating, to show that you are eager to eat or enjoyed eating.
- smelting furnace — an industrial oven used to heat ore in order to extract metal
- social democracy — a political ideology advocating a gradual transition to socialism or a modified form of socialism by and under democratic political processes.
- social economics — the study of the interrelation between economics and social behavior.
- social evolution — the gradual development of society and social forms, institutions, etc., usually through a series of peaceful stages. Compare revolution (def 2).
- social exclusion — Social exclusion is the act of making certain groups of people within a society feel isolated and unimportant.
- social gathering — party, get-together
- social insurance — any of various forms of insurance in which a government is an insurer, especially such insurance that provides assistance to disabled or unemployed workers and to aged persons.
- social scientist — sb: studies human society
- social secretary — a personal secretary employed to make social appointments and handle personal correspondence.
- social structure — structure (def 9).
- sodium cyclamate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, NaC 6 NH 1 2 SO 3 , that has been used as a sweetening agent: banned by the FDA in 1970.
- soil conditioner — any of various organic or inorganic materials added to soil to improve its structure.
- solar prominence — prominence (def 3).
- sole beneficiary — the only beneficiary
- sole stockholder — the only person who holds shares in a business
- sonoluminescence — the emission of a flash of light accompanying the bursting of a bubble in a liquid when sound waves are passed through the liquid.
- sour-milk cheese — cottage cheese made from sour milk.
- source materials — publications from which information is obtained
- south charleston — a city in W West Virginia.
- spanish mackerel — an American game fish, Scomberomorus maculatus, inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean.
- special clearing — (in Britain) the clearing of a cheque through a bank in less than the usual three days, for an additional charge
- special delivery — (in the U.S. Postal Service) delivery of mail outside the regularly scheduled hours, by a special messenger, upon the payment of an extra fee.
- special handling — (in the U.S. Postal Service) the handling of third- and fourth-class mail as first-class upon the payment of a fee.
- special interest — special-interest group (def 1).
- special pleading — Law. pleading that alleges special or new matter in avoidance of the allegations made by the opposite side.
- specific impulse — a measure, usually in seconds, of the efficiency with which a rocket engine utilizes its propellants, equal to the number of pounds of thrust produced per pound of propellant burned per second.
- spectacled cobra — Indian cobra.
- spectrobolometer — an instrument consisting of a spectroscope and a bolometer, for determining the distribution of radiant energy in a spectrum.
- spectroheliogram — a photograph of the sun made with a spectroheliograph.
- speech pathology — the scientific study and treatment of defects, disorders, and malfunctions of speech and voice, as stuttering, lisping, or lalling, and of language disturbances, as aphasia or delayed language acquisition.
- spherical excess — the difference between the sum of the angles of a spherical triangle and two right angles.
- spiral staircase — stairs that wind round
- spiritual incest — marriage or a sexual relationship between persons related by spiritual affinity or with a person under a solemn vow of chastity