20-letter words containing i, c, o, n, l
- prescription glasses — corrective spectacles
- prince william sound — a sound in the Gulf of Alaska, on the S coast of Alaska: S end of Trans-Alaska oil pipeline at port of Valdez.
- probability function — the function the values of which are probabilities of the distinct outcomes of a discrete random variable
- property speculation — the buying or selling of property in the hope of deriving capital gains
- proportional counter — a radiation counter in which the strength of each electric pulse generated per count is proportional to the energy of the particle or photon producing the pulse, alpha particles producing a different electric pulse from beta rays.
- proportional spacing — a feature of some typewriters and other output devices whereby the space allotted to each character is determined by the width of the character
- psychological moment — the proper or critical time for achieving a desired result: She found the right psychological moment to make her request.
- public administrator — an official of a city, county, or state government.
- punch a (time) clock — to insert a timecard into a time clock when coming to or going from work
- pyroligneous alcohol — methyl alcohol.
- quasi-constitutional — of or relating to the constitution of a state, organization, etc.
- rachel louise carson — Christopher ("Kit") 1809–68, U.S. frontiersman and scout.
- real-time processing — data-processing by a computer which receives constantly changing data, such as information relating to air-traffic control, travel booking systems, etc, and processes it sufficiently rapidly to be able to control the source of the data
- receivables turnover — A receivables turnover is a measure of cash flow that is calculated by dividing net credit sales by average accounts receivable.
- reciprocal insurance — insurance in which members of a reciprocal exchange, acting through an attorney-in-fact, insure themselves and each other.
- reconcile an account — If you reconcile an account, you compare the items in a bank statement, credit card statement, or vendor statement with the entries on your books and make sure that the statement and books match.
- recreational therapy — therapy by means of recreational activities engaged in by the patient
- recreational vehicle — a van or utility vehicle used for recreational purposes, as camping, and often equipped with living facilities. Abbreviation: RV.
- reflecting telescope — an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms (refracting telescope) consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form (reflecting telescope) has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed. Compare radio telescope.
- refracting telescope — an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms (refracting telescope) consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form (reflecting telescope) has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed. Compare radio telescope.
- regenerative cooling — Physics. a method of cooling a gas, utilizing the rapid expansion of a compressed portion of the gas, before it becomes liquid, to cool the remainder.
- relative conjunction — a conjunction that introduces a relative clause
- revolving presidency — a form of presidency in which the president and vice-president, or countries or bodies acting as such, switch roles after a set period and then back again and so on
- romantic involvement — the condition of being in a romantic or sexual relationship
- ruby-crowned kinglet — an olive-gray, American kinglet, Regulus calendula, the male of which has an erectile, ruby crest.
- saint john ambulance — an organization that provides first aid and first-aid training
- schizoid personality — sb with identity disorder
- scientific socialism — Marxist socialism
- scottish nationalism — a political ideology advocating the independence of Scotland
- season ticket holder — a person who has a season ticket
- second international — an international association formed in 1889 in Paris, uniting socialistic groups or parties of various countries and holding international congresses from time to time: in 1923 it joined with the Vienna International to form the Labor and Socialist International. Compare international (def 6).
- second law of motion — any of three laws of classical mechanics, either the law that a body remains at rest or in motion with a constant velocity unless an external force acts on the body (first law of motion) the law that the sum of the forces acting on a body is equal to the product of the mass of the body and the acceleration produced by the forces, with motion in the direction of the resultant of the forces (second law of motion) or the law that for every force acting on a body, the body exerts a force having equal magnitude and the opposite direction along the same line of action as the original force (third law of motion or law of action and reaction)
- second-class citizen — a citizen, especially a member of a minority group, who is denied the social, political, and economic benefits of citizenship.
- separation allowance — an allowance paid to a member of the military when they are forced to be apart from their family due to their military duties
- settle accounts with — to pay or receive a balance due
- shifting cultivation — a land-use system, esp in tropical Africa, in which a tract of land is cultivated until its fertility diminishes, when it is abandoned until this is restored naturally
- silicon tetrahydride — silane (def 1).
- slow-scan television — a technique or system in which an image is scanned electronically more slowly than is normally done in order to produce images, especially of still pictures, that can be transmitted economically, as over a telephone line, and displayed on a television screen.
- societal development — the formation and transformation of social life, customs, institutions, etc.
- soft gelatin capsule — A soft gelatin capsule is a type of capsule that is usually used to contain medicine in the form of liquid or powder, and which dissolves more quickly than a hard gelatin capsule.
- solitary confinement — the confinement of a prisoner in a cell or other place in which he or she is completely isolated from others.
- south american plate — a major tectonic division of the earth's crust, comprising the continent of South America and several ocean basins and bounded on the north by the Caribbean Plate, on the east by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, on the west by a submarine trench that borders the western coast of the continent, and on the south by the Antarctic Plate.
- south atlantic ocean — the part of the Atlantic Ocean extending S from the Equator to the Antarctic continent.
- southern oscillation — a low-latitude fluctuation of atmospheric pressure closely linked with El Niño events, specifically the periods of El Niño warming and La Niña cooling.
- spatial technologies — (company) Distributors of the ACIS solid modelling engine.
- special relationship — the exceptionally close political, diplomatic, cultural and historical relations between the United States and the United Kingdom
- spherical aberration — variation in focal length of a lens or mirror from center to edge, due to its spherical shape.
- spherical coordinate — Usually, spherical coordinates. any of three coordinates used to locate a point in space by the length of its radius vector and the angles this vector makes with two perpendicular polar planes.
- spotted crane's-bill — the American wild geranium, Geranium maculatum.
- subscription library — a commercial lending library