16-letter words containing i, n, s, p
- spiny-rayed fish — any of various fishes, as basses and perches, that have sharp, often pointed and usually rigid fin spines.
- spiritual incest — marriage or a sexual relationship between persons related by spiritual affinity or with a person under a solemn vow of chastity
- spiritualization — to make spiritual.
- spiritus vinosus — (in prescriptions) spirits of wine; alcohol.
- spit-and-sawdust — (of a pub) shabby, dirty, and basic
- splanchnic nerve — Anatomy. any of several nerves to the viscera and blood vessels of the chest and pelvic areas.
- split infinitive — an expression in which there is a word or phrase, especially an adverb or adverbial phrase, between to and its accompanying verb form in an infinitive, as in to readily understand.
- sports equipment — gear used to play sport
- spraying machine — a device for spraying large volumes of liquid, such as insecticide onto crops
- spreading center — a linear zone in the sea floor along which magma rises and from which adjacent crustal plates are moving apart.
- spreading factor — a substance, as hyaluronidase, that promotes the diffusion of a material through body tissues
- spring ephemeral — any of various woodland wildflowers that appear above ground in early spring, flower and fruit, and die in a short two-month period.
- spring mountains — a mountain range in S Nevada extending to the California border. Highest peak, Charleston Peak. 11,919 feet (3635 meters).
- spring snowflake — a European amaryllidaceous plant, Leucojum vernum, with white nodding bell-shaped flowers
- springer spaniel — a dog of either of two breeds of medium-sized spaniels, used for flushing and retrieving game.
- sprinkler system — apparatus for automatically extinguishing fires in a building, consisting of a system of water pipes in or below the ceilings, with valves or sprinklers usually made to open automatically at a certain temperature.
- stage production — a play or show which is performed on stage
- stamp collecting — Stamp collecting is the hobby of building up a collection of stamps.
- stamp collection — the act of collecting postage stamps as a hobby
- standing cypress — a plant, Ipomopsis rubra, of the southern U.S., having feathery leaves and clusters of red and yellow flowers.
- stannic sulphide — an insoluble solid compound of tin usually existing as golden crystals or as a yellowish-brown powder: used as a pigment. Formula: SnS2
- stationary point — a point on a curve at which the tangent is either horizontal or vertical, such as a maximum, a minimum, or a point of inflection
- stenothermophile — a stenothermophilic bacterium.
- step out of line — to fail to conform to expected standards, attitudes, etc
- stephen f austin — Alfred, 1835–1913, English poet: poet laureate 1896–1913.
- sticking plaster — an adhesive cloth or other material for covering and closing superficial wounds, holding bandages in place, etc.
- stinging capsule — a nematocyst.
- stomach stapling — Stomach stapling is an operation in which part of the stomach is removed in order to help a person to eat less and lose weight.
- stonecrop family — the plant family Crassulaceae, characterized by succulent herbaceous plants and shrubs with simple, fleshy leaves, clusters of small flowers, and dry, dehiscent fruit, and including hen-and-chickens, houseleek, kalanchoe, live-forever, orpine, sedum, and stonecrop.
- stopped diapason — a full, rich outpouring of melodious sound.
- strange particle — any elementary particle with a strangeness quantum number other than zero.
- studio apartment — an apartment consisting of one main room, a kitchen or kitchenette, and a bathroom. Compare efficiency apartment.
- subsistence crop — a food plant which is grown by a farmer for consumption by himself and his family, leaving little or nothing to be marketed
- sugar plantation — a large area of land where sugar is grown
- sulfanilyl group — the para form of the group C 6 H 6 NO 2 S–, derived from sulfanilic acid.
- sulfarsphenamine — a yellow, water-soluble, arsenic-containing powder, C 1 4 H 1 4 As 2 N 2 Na 2 O 8 S 2 , formerly used in the treatment of syphilis.
- summer complaint — an acute condition of diarrhea, occurring during the hot summer months chiefly in infants and children, caused by bacterial contamination of food and associated with poor hygiene.
- sun in splendour — a representation of the sun with rays and a human face
- super-injunction — an instruction or order issued by a court imposing restrictions on reporting, including any reference to the restriction itself
- superciliousness — haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
- superfecundation — the fertilization of two or more ova discharged at the same ovulation by successive acts of sexual intercourse.
- superior general — the superior of an order or congregation.
- supernationalism — an extreme or fanatical loyalty or devotion to a nation.
- supersensitivity — extremely or excessively sensitive; hypersensitive: a supersensitive smoke detector.
- superunification — a theory intended to describe the electromagnetic force, the strong force, the weak force, and gravity as a single, unified force.
- supporting actor — performer: not lead
- supranationalism — outside or beyond the authority of one national government, as a project or policy that is planned and controlled by a group of nations.
- surface-printing — planography.
- suspending agent — A suspending agent is a liquid in which a solid substance can be held in suspension.
- suspension point — one of a group of dots, usually three, used in written material to indicate the omission of a word or words