20-letter words containing i, n, a, p, r, o
- rapid reaction force — a force that can be deployed swiftly to a site of conflict or potential conflict
- read-eval-print loop — (language, LISP, programming) (REPL) A programming structure within LISP which repeatedly reads a form from the user, evaluates it, and displays the result. A read-eval-print loop forms the basis of the Top-Level shell that programmers of the LISP family of languages interact with. In many dialects of LISP a very simple REPL could be implemented as: (loop (print (eval (read)))). (2003-06-23)
- 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
- reciprocal insurance — insurance in which members of a reciprocal exchange, acting through an attorney-in-fact, insure themselves and each other.
- reciprocating engine — an engine in which one or more pistons move backwards and forwards inside a cylinder or cylinders
- recreational therapy — therapy by means of recreational activities engaged in by the patient
- 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.
- refuse disposal unit — a unit or part of a sink that disposes of waste food, etc, by grinding
- regional development — aid-giving to poorer areas or countries
- relative deprivation — the perception of an unfair disparity between one's situation and that of others.
- réseaux ip européens — (RIPE) A collaboration between European networks which use the TCP/IP protocol suite to provide Internet services.
- respiratory quotient — the ratio of the amount of carbon dioxide released by the lungs to the amount of oxygen taken in during a given period.
- retinitis pigmentosa — degeneration of the retina manifested by night blindness and gradual loss of peripheral vision, eventually resulting in tunnel vision or total blindness.
- rocky mountain sheep — bighorn.
- rotations per minute — revolutions per minute
- royal leamington spa — a city in Warwickshire, central England: health resort.
- santa cruz operation — (SCO) A supplier of Unix systems for Intel microprocessors. They supply Xenix and Open Desktop. Founded in 1979, SCO became a public company in May, 1993 and trades on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol SCOC. SCO maintains its world headquarters in Santa Cruz, California, USA; a European headquarters in Watford, England; a Government Systems Group in Reston, Virginia; and offices in Asia, Australia, Canada, Latin America, and throughout Europe and the United States. In February 1993, SCO acquired IXI Limited of Cambridge, England, the leading supplier of Unix System windowing software.
- schizoid personality — sb with identity disorder
- 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
- separation of powers — the principle or system of vesting in separate branches the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of a government.
- serve a person right — to pay a person back, esp for wrongful or foolish treatment or behaviour
- service access point — (networking) (SAP) The OSI term for the component of a network address which identifies the individual application on a host which is sending or receiving a packet. Different SAPs distinguish between different services or applications on a host, e.g. electronic mail, FTP, HTTP.
- sex change operation — a surgical operation designed to change a person's physical sexual characteristics to those of the opposite sex
- 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.
- span of apprehension — the maximum number of objects that can be correctly assessed after a brief presentation
- spanish oyster plant — a composite plant, Scolymus hispanicus, of southern Europe, having spiny, thistlelike leaf margins, small yellow flowers, and an edible root.
- special relationship — the exceptionally close political, diplomatic, cultural and historical relations between the United States and the United Kingdom
- specific performance — (especially in the sale of land) literal compliance with one's contractual promises pursuant to a judicial mandate.
- spectroscopic binary — a binary star having components that are not sufficiently separated to be resolved by a telescope, known to be a binary only bythe variations in wavelength of emitted light that are detected by a spectroscope.
- 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.
- spirits of hartshorn — a colorless, pungent, suffocating, aqueous solution of about 28.5 percent ammonia gas: used chiefly as a detergent, for removing stains and extracting certain vegetable coloring agents, and in the manufacture of ammonium salts.
- spontaneous abortion — miscarriage (def 1).
- spontaneous-abortion — Also called voluntary abortion. the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.
- spotted crane's-bill — the American wild geranium, Geranium maculatum.
- square of opposition — a diagrammatic representation of the opposition of categorical propositions.
- step into the breach — If you step into the breach, you do a job or task which someone else was supposed to do or has done in the past, because they are suddenly unable to do it.
- subscription library — a commercial lending library
- supersonic transport — a commercial jet airplane that can fly faster than the speed of sound. Abbreviation: SST.
- teletype corporation — (company) The company which made Teletype teletypewriters. Address: Skokie, Illinois, USA.
- television programme — a programme broadcast on television
- the legal profession — the profession of law
- therapeutic abortion — abortion performed when a woman's pregnancy endangers her health.
- to bring up the rear — If a person or vehicle is bringing up the rear, they are the last person or vehicle in a moving line of them.
- to keep your hand in — If you do something to keep your hand in, you practise a skill or hobby occasionally in order to remain fairly good at it.
- to make up your mind — If you make up your mind or make your mind up, you decide which of a number of possible things you will have or do.
- to spread your wings — If you spread your wings, you do something new and rather difficult or move to a new place, because you feel more confident in your abilities than you used to and you want to gain wider experience.
- toxemia of pregnancy — an abnormal condition of pregnancy characterized by hypertension, fluid retention, edema, and the presence of protein in the urine.
- transformation point — a temperature at which the transformation of one microconstituent to another begins or ends during heating or cooling.
- transposition cipher — a cipher that rearranges the letters of the plain text in a different sequence.