16-letter words containing i, r, t, a, e, s
- sparking voltage — the minimum voltage required to produce a spark across a given spark gap.
- sparring partner — a boxer who spars with and otherwise serves to train a boxer who is preparing for a bout.
- speak for itself — be self-evident
- speaking trumpet — a trumpet-shaped instrument used to carry the voice a great distance or held to the ear by a deaf person to aid his hearing
- special interest — special-interest group (def 1).
- specific gravity — the ratio of the density of any substance to the density of some other substance taken as standard, water being the standard for liquids and solids, and hydrogen or air being the standard for gases.
- spectroheliogram — a photograph of the sun made with a spectroheliograph.
- speech therapist — sb who treats speaking disorders
- spin the platter — a game in which one member of a group spins a platter on its edge and a designated member must catch it before it falls or pay a forfeit.
- spiral staircase — stairs that wind round
- spiritual healer — a faith healer
- spiritual incest — marriage or a sexual relationship between persons related by spiritual affinity or with a person under a solemn vow of chastity
- spreader-ditcher — a machine for shaping and cleaning roadbeds and ditches and for freeing tracks of ice and snow by plowing and digging.
- 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
- square kilometer — a unit of area measurement equal to a square measuring one kilometer on each side. 2 , sq. km. Abbreviation: km.
- squatter's right — a claim to real property, especially public land, that may be granted to a person who has openly possessed and continuously occupied it without legal authority for a prescribed period of years.
- st. clair shores — a city in SE Michigan, near Detroit.
- staffing officer — someone who recruits, hires, and ensures the interests of staff and employees in an organization
- stage production — a play or show which is performed on stage
- standard english — the English language in its most widely accepted form, as written and spoken by educated people in both formal and informal contexts, having universal currency while incorporating regional differences.
- standing cypress — a plant, Ipomopsis rubra, of the southern U.S., having feathery leaves and clusters of red and yellow flowers.
- stannic chloride — a colorless fuming and caustic liquid, SnCl 4 , soluble in water and alcohol, that converts with water to a crystalline solid: used for electrically conductive and electroluminescent coatings and in ceramics.
- state of affairs — situation
- state university — a university maintained by the government of a state.
- static character — a literary or dramatic character who undergoes little or no inner change; a character who does not grow or develop.
- static discharge — Static discharge is the release of static electricity when two objects touch each other.
- stationary state — any of several energy states an atom may occupy without emitting electromagnetic radiation.
- stereoregularity — (of a polymer) the degree to which successive configurations in space along the chain follow a simple rule. Also called tacticity. Compare configuration (def 4).
- steric hindrance — the prevention or retardation of inter- or intramolecular interactions as a result of the spatial structure of a molecule.
- sth rings a bell — If you say that something rings a bell, you mean that it reminds you of something, but you cannot remember exactly what it is.
- sticking plaster — an adhesive cloth or other material for covering and closing superficial wounds, holding bandages in place, etc.
- 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.
- storage capacity — amount of room or space
- storage terminal — A storage terminal is a building or area with large tanks for storing oil, gas, and other petrochemical products.
- straight shooter — a person who is forthright and upstanding in behavior.
- straight whiskey — pure, unblended whiskey of 80 to 110 proof.
- strain hardening — a process in which a metal is permanently deformed in order to increase its resistance to further deformation
- strait-lacedness — the state or quality of being strait-laced
- strange particle — any elementary particle with a strangeness quantum number other than zero.
- strawberry blite — a plant, Chenopodium capitatum, having dense, rounded clusters of minute reddish flowers.
- streak lightning — lightning in which there is a sudden flash from what appears to be a single main line
- street christian — (especially in the 1960s) a Christian whose religious life centers more in social or communal groups than in institutional churches.
- strike a balance — compromise
- strike a bargain — an advantageous purchase, especially one acquired at less than the usual cost: The sale offered bargains galore.
- string orchestra — an orchestra consisting only of violins, violas, cellos, and double basses
- studio apartment — an apartment consisting of one main room, a kitchen or kitchenette, and a bathroom. Compare efficiency apartment.
- substantive rank — a permanent rank in the armed services obtained by length of service, selection, etc
- 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-dried tomato — tomato dried in the sun