18-letter words containing e, s, o, p

spectrofluorimeter — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
spectrofluorometer — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
spectroheliography — the process of obtaining an image of the sun in light of a particular wavelength, such as calcium or hydrogen, showing the distribution of the element over the surface and in the solar atmosphere, using a spectroheliograph
spectropolarimeter — an instrument for determining the extent to which plane-polarized light of various wavelengths is rotated by certain solutions, consisting of a combination of a spectroscope and a polarimeter.
spectropolariscope — an instrument combining the functions of a spectroscope with those of a polariscope.
speech recognition — Computers. the computerized analysis of spoken words in order to identify the speaker, as in security systems, or to respond to voiced commands: the analysis is performed by finding patterns in the spectrum of the incoming sound and comparing them with stored patterns of elements of sound, as phones, or of complete words.
sperry corporation — (company) The company which merged with the Burroughs Corporation to form Unisys Corporation. Divisions included Sperry Univac, Sperry Flight Systems, and others. Some of these were sold off after the merger.
spherical geometry — the branch of geometry that deals with figures on spherical surfaces.
spike-tooth harrow — a harrow equipped with straight teeth on horizontal bars, usually employed to smooth and level plowed soil or seedbeds for planting or sowing.
split-level cooker — a cooker that is designed with a separate oven and hob so that they can be fitted wherever is most convenient in the kitchen
spotted flycatcher — a European woodland songbird, Muscicapa striata, with a greyish-brown streaked plumage: family Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers)
spread one's wings — to make full use of one's abilities
spur-of-the-moment — occurring or done without advance preparation or deliberation; extemporaneous; unplanned: a spur-of-the-moment decision.
stepping-off place — jumping-off place (def 2).
stroustrup, bjarne — Bjarne Stroustrup
subatomic particle — physics:
subject complement — a word or a group of words, usually functioning as an adjective or noun, that is used in the predicate following a copula and describes or is identified with the subject of the sentence, as sleepy in The travelers became sleepy.
summary proceeding — a mode of trial authorized by statute to be held before a judge without the usual full hearing.
super giant slalom — a slalom race in which the course is longer and has more widely spaced gates than in a giant slalom.
super royal octavo — a book size, 63⁄4 by 101⁄4 inches
super royal quarto — a book size, 101⁄4 by 131⁄2 inches
superior vena cava — See under vena cava.
superstring theory — any supersymmetric string theory in which each type of elementary particle is treated as a vibration of a single fundamental string (superstring) at a particular frequency.
supporting actress — an actress playing a supporting role
supportive therapy — any treatment, such as the intravenous administration of certain fluids, designed to reinforce or sustain the physiological well-being of a patient
supraorbital ridge — browridge.
surveyor's compass — an instrument used by surveyors for measuring azimuths.
symphony orchestra — a large orchestra composed of wind, string, and percussion instruments and organized to perform symphonic compositions.
system-programming — a program, as an operating system, compiler, or utility program, that controls some aspect of the operation of a computer (opposed to application program).
systematic phoneme — a phonological unit in generative phonology representing an underlying form that takes into account the relationship between phonological patterns and morphological variation, as the unit underlying the second vowel in both derive and derivative.
systems programmer — a person whose job is to program systems software
take the wraps off — to reveal
telephone sex line — a telephone line operated by a phone-sex worker that offers phone sex to paying customers
television company — a company that broadcasts programmes by television
temporal summation — the act or process of summing.
temporary hardness — hardness of water due to the presence of magnesium and calcium hydrogencarbonates, which can be precipitated as carbonates by boiling
the bottomless pit — the underworld; hell
the encyclopedists — the writers of the French Encyclopedia (1751-72) edited by Diderot and d'Alembert, which contained the advanced ideas of the period
the heavens opened — it started pouring with rain
the lords temporal — (in Britain) peers other than bishops in their capacity as members of the House of Lords
the palmetto state — a nickname for South Carolina
the powers that be — You can refer to people in authority as the powers that be, especially when you want to say that you disagree with them or do not understand what they say or do.
to all appearances — apparently
to cast aspersions — If you cast aspersions on someone or something, you suggest that they are not very good in some way.
to get a bad press — If someone or something gets a bad press, they are criticized, especially in the newspapers, on television, or on radio. If they get a good press, they are praised.
to learn the ropes — If you are learning the ropes, you are learning how a particular task or job is done.
to lick into shape — If you lick, knock, or whip someone or something into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve them so that they are in the condition that you want them to be in.
to pick and choose — If you pick and choose, you carefully choose only things that you really want and reject the others.
to play favourites — to display favouritism
to pull a fast one — If you say that someone has pulled a fast one on you, you mean that they have cheated or tricked you.

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