18-letter words containing e, s, m
- premiere screening — the first screening of a film at a cinema, etc
- presenile dementia — a form of dementia, of unknown cause, starting before a person is old
- pressure altimeter — an aneroid barometer adapted for measuring altitude by converting the indicated atmospheric pressure to altitude according to a standard relationship.
- presumption of law — a presumption based upon a policy of law or a general rule and not upon the facts or evidence in an individual case.
- prime-ministership — the principal minister and head of government in parliamentary systems; chief of the cabinet or ministry: the British prime minister.
- primus inter pares — (of males) first among equals.
- prism spectrometer — an optical device for measuring wavelengths, deviation of refracted rays, and angles between faces of a prism, especially an instrument (prism spectrometer) consisting of a slit through which light passes, a collimator, a prism that deviates the light, and a telescope through which the deviated light is viewed and examined.
- prisoner's dilemma — (in game theory) a scenario in which the outcome of one person's decision is determined by the simultaneous decisions of the other participants, resulting in a bad outcome for all of them if all act in their own self-interest.
- processionary moth — a moth of the family Thaumetopoeidae, esp the oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea), the larvae of which leave the communal shelter nightly for food in a V-shaped procession
- programme of study — the prescribed syllabus that pupils must be taught at each key stage in the National Curriculum
- programmer's cheer — (humour) "Shift to the left! Shift to the right! Pop up, push down! Byte! Byte! Byte!" [Origin?]
- prometheus unbound — a drama in verse (1820) by Shelley.
- provision merchant — a person or company in the business of retailing food and other provisions
- pseudo-competitive — of, pertaining to, involving, or decided by competition: competitive sports; a competitive examination.
- pseudo-symptomatic — pertaining to a symptom or symptoms.
- psychogalvanometer — a type of galvanometer for detecting and measuring psychogalvanic currents.
- ptomaine poisoning — (erroneously) food poisoning thought to be caused by ptomaine.
- pull someone's leg — either of the two lower limbs of a biped, as a human being, or any of the paired limbs of an animal, arthropod, etc., that support and move the body.
- pulmonary embolism — the blockage of a pulmonary artery, often by a blood clot, that stops the flow of blood to the lungs and which can result in death if untreated
- pulmonic airstream — a current of lung air set in motion by the respiratory muscles in the production of speech.
- punishment beating — a form of corporal punishment carried out by a paramilitary organization on a member of another sectarian organization, usually in Northern Ireland
- put the mockers on — stop, thwart
- pyramus and thisbe — (in Greek legend) two lovers of Babylon: Pyramus, wrongly supposing Thisbe to be dead, killed himself and she, encountering him in his death throes, did the same
- quasi-metaphysical — pertaining to or of the nature of metaphysics.
- quinacrine mustard — a nitrogen mustard derived from mepacrine and used as a stain for chromosomes
- radical empiricism — (in the philosophy of William James) the doctrine that the only proper subject matter of philosophy is that which can be defined in terms of experience, and that relations are a part of experience.
- raman spectroscopy — a form of spectroscopy which uses the Raman effect for studying molecules
- rattlesnake master — any of various plants of the genus Eryngium, especially E. yuccifolium, having spiny leaves and dense, rounded flower heads.
- recess appointment — a person appointed to an office by the President of the United States without approval from the Senate because the Senate is in recess
- registered company — a company which has officially registered its business
- remains to be seen — If you say that it remains to be seen whether something will happen, you mean that nobody knows whether it will happen.
- remanent magnetism — magnetization in minerals induced by a former magnetic field and persisting after the field changes.
- remembrance sunday — the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday closest to November 11, the anniversary of the armistice of 1918 that ended World War I, on which the dead of both World Wars are commemorated
- repayment schedule — a document detailing the specific terms of a borrower's loan, such as monthly payment, interest rate, due dates etc
- resaca de la palma — a locality in S Texas, near Brownsville: battle 1846.
- residual magnetism — remanence.
- resistance plasmid — any of a group of bacterial plasmids carrying genetic information that provide resistance to antibiotic drugs: some resistance plasmids are able to transfer themselves, and hence resistance, during conjugation
- respiratory system — the system by which oxygen is taken into the body and an exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place; in mammals the system includes the nasal passages, pharynx, trachea, bronchi, and lungs.
- restoration comedy — English comedy of the period of the Restoration, stressing manners and social satire.
- restriction enzyme — any of a group of enzymes that catalyze the cleavage of DNA molecules at specific sites: used for gene splicing in recombinant DNA technology and for chromosome mapping.
- resuscitation room — an intensive care unit
- retirement pension — income: no longer at work
- retrograde amnesia — a memory disorder characterized by an inability to remember events or experiences that occurred before a significant point in time.
- rheims-douay bible — Douay Bible.
- salem witch trials — 17th-century witchcraft case
- sampling equipment — Sampling equipment is equipment which is used to remove small amounts of something for analysis and monitoring.
- sampling frequency — sample rate
- sao joao de meriti — a city in SE Brazil, NW of Rio de Janeiro.
- sault sainte marie — the rapids of the St. Marys River, between NE Michigan and Ontario, Canada.
- schengen agreement — an agreement, signed in 1985 at a meeting of European leaders near Schengen, Luxembourg, but not implemented until 1995, to gradually abolish border controls within Europe; it was supplemented in 1990 by the Schengen Convention; in 1999 the agreement was incorporated into European Union law. Twenty-six countries acceded by 2015; the UK is not a signatory