15-letter words containing e, u, r, t
- nutmeg geranium — a southern African plant, Pelargonium fragrans, of the geranium family, having hairy leaves with scalloped margins and nutmeg-scented clusters of white flowers, of which the two upper petals are veined deep pink.
- nutty professor — a professor or academic person who is eccentric or slightly crazy or unusual
- nyquist theorem — (communications) A theorem stating that when an analogue waveform is digitised, only the frequencies in the waveform below half the sampling frequency will be recorded. In order to reconstruct (interpolate) a signal from a sequence of samples, sufficient samples must be recorded to capture the peaks and troughs of the original waveform. If a waveform is sampled at less than twice its frequency the reconstructed waveform will effectively contribute only noise. This phenomenon is called "aliasing" (the high frequencies are "under an alias"). This is why the best digital audio is sampled at 44,000 Hz - twice the average upper limit of human hearing. The Nyquist Theorem is not specific to digitised signals (represented by discrete amplitude levels) but applies to any sampled signal (represented by discrete time values), not just sound.
- obstacle course — a military training area having obstacles, as hurdles, ditches, and walls, that must be surmounted or crossed in succession.
- obstructiveness — The characteristic of being obstructive.
- obtuse triangle — a triangle with one obtuse angle.
- octanitrocubane — (organic compound) A high explosive derived from cubane.
- odd permutation — a permutation of a set of n elements, x 1 , x 2 , …, xn, which permutes the product of all differences of the form (xi – xj), where i is less than j, into the negative of the product.
- okhotsk current — a cold ocean current flowing SW from the Bering Sea, E of the Kurile Islands, along the E coast of Japan where it meets the Japan Current.
- omnium gatherum — a miscellaneous collection.
- omnium-gatherum — a miscellaneous collection.
- one's last hour — the time of one's death
- open university — higher education by correspondence
- open your mouth — If you say that someone does not open their mouth, you are emphasizing that they never say anything at all.
- opposite number — counterpart; equivalent: New members with an interest in folk art will find their opposite numbers in the association's directory.
- ordered n-tuple — a set of n objects or quantities, where n is an integer, especially such a set arranged in a specified order (ordered n-tuple)
- ortho-toluidine — Chemistry. a light-yellow, very slightly water-soluble liquid, C 7 H 9 N, the ortho isomer of toluidine: used in the manufacture of dyes, saccharin, and other organic compounds, and in textile printing processes.
- ostreiculturist — a person who breeds oysters
- 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.
- out on your ear — If someone says that you will be out on your ear, they mean that you will be forced to leave a job, an organization or a place suddenly.
- outer barrister — a barrister belonging to the outer bar.
- outline drawing — a drawing consisting only of external lines
- outreach worker — a person who does work designed to help and encourage disadvantaged members of the community
- outside caliper — a caliper whose legs turn inward so that it can measure outside dimensions, as the diameter of a rod.
- outside forward — one of two attacking players who usually play on the far side of the field; wing.
- outward journey — a journey leaving for a particular destination (as opposed top one returning home)
- over-accentuate — to give emphasis or prominence to.
- over-articulate — excessively articulate
- over-cultivated — to prepare and work on (land) in order to raise crops; till.
- over-enthusiasm — absorbing or controlling possession of the mind by any interest or pursuit; lively interest: He shows marked enthusiasm for his studies.
- 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-population — to fill with an excessive number of people, straining available resources and facilities: Expanding industry has overpopulated the western suburbs.
- over-regulation — a law, rule, or other order prescribed by authority, especially to regulate conduct.
- over-solicitous — too solicitous: oversolicitous concerning one's health.
- over-structured — excessively structured or organized.
- overcommunicate — to communicate excessively
- overconsumption — the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.
- overcultivation — the act or art of cultivating.
- overexpenditure — the act of expending something, especially funds; disbursement; consumption.
- overspeculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- overstimulation — to rouse to action or effort, as by encouragement or pressure; spur on; incite: to stimulate his interest in mathematics.
- overthrust belt — an elongate area in which thick rock layers have been pushed over one another by compressional forces within the earth's crust.
- overutilization — to put to use; turn to profitable account: to utilize a stream to power a mill.
- oyster mushroom — oyster cap.
- pandorae fretum — an area in the southern hemisphere of Mars.
- parachute brake — a parachute opened horizontally from the tail of an airplane upon landing, used as an aid in braking. Also called parabrake. Compare drogue parachute (def 2).
- parent compound — a compound from which derivatives may be obtained.
- parent language — an earlier language from which another is derived.
- part of fortune — the celestial longitude of the moon plus the celestial longitude of the ascendant minus the celestial longitude of the sun: said to connote an area of life through which one achieves emotional satisfaction.
- parti québécois — (in Canada) a political party in Quebec, formed in 1968 and originally advocating the separation of Quebec from the rest of the country