18-letter words containing l, p, a
- people trafficking — the practice of bringing immigrants into a country illegally
- people's democracy — (in Communist ideology) a country or form of government in transition from bourgeois democracy to socialism. In this stage there is more than one class, the largest being the proletariat, led by the Communist Party, which is therefore the dominant power
- percentile ranking — the percentage of scores that a particular score is greater than
- perceptual defence — the process by which it is thought that certain stimuli are either not perceived or are distorted due to their offensive, unpleasant, or threatening nature
- perceptual mapping — the use of a graph or map in the development of a new product, in which the proximity of consumers' images of the new product to those of an ideal product provide an indication of the new product's likely success
- percussion flaking — a method of forming a flint tool by striking flakes from a stone core with another stone or a piece of bone or wood.
- perennial ryegrass — any of several European grasses of the genus Lolium, as L. perenne (perennial ryegrass) grown for forage in the U.S.
- perfect participle — past participle.
- perlocutionary act — the action of affecting someone by uttering certain words
- perpetual calendar — a calendar devised to be used for many years, as in determining the day of the week on which a given date falls.
- personal allowance — the amount of money you are allowed to earn each year without paying tax
- personal assistant — aide
- personal bodyguard — a person employed to protect a particular person
- personal exemption — Your personal exemption is the amount of money that is deducted from your gross income before you have to start paying income tax.
- personal insurance — insurance on personal risk, such as car insurance, health insurance or loss of earnings insurance
- personal organizer — a small notebook with sections for personal information, as dates and addresses.
- pescadores-islands — (used with a plural verb) Penghu.
- peter and the wolf — a composition by Sergei Prokofiev written in 1936. It is a children's story with both music and text, spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra
- phanerocrystalline — (of a rock) having the principal constituents in the form of crystals visible to the naked eye.
- phantasmagorically — having a fantastic or deceptive appearance, as something in a dream or created by the imagination.
- phantom withdrawal — the unauthorized removal of funds from a bank account using an automated teller machine
- phenylacetaldehyde — a colorless, oily, water-insoluble liquid, C 3 H 1 4 O, having a hyacinthlike odor: used chiefly in perfumery.
- philharmonic pitch — a standard of pitch in which A above middle C is established at 440 vibrations per second.
- phosphatidylserine — any of a class of phospholipids occurring in biological membranes and fats
- photochemical smog — air pollution containing ozone and other reactive chemical compounds formed by the action of sunlight on nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, especially those in automobile exhaust.
- phthalic anhydride — a white, crystalline, slightly water-soluble solid, C 8 H 4 O 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of dyes, alkyd resins, and plasticizers.
- physical chemistry — the branch of chemistry dealing with the relations between the physical properties of substances and their chemical composition and transformations.
- physical education — systematic instruction in sports, exercises, and hygiene given as part of a school or college program.
- physical geography — the branch of geography concerned with natural features and phenomena of the earth's surface, as landforms, drainage features, climates, soils, and vegetation.
- physical inventory — To carry out a physical inventory is to count all the stock on hand.
- physical therapist — sb who performs physiotherapy
- phytohemagglutinin — a lectin, obtained from the red kidney bean, that binds to the membranes of T cells and stimulates metabolic activity, cell division, etc.
- pig-tailed macaque — a forest-dwelling southeast Asian macaque, Macaca nemestrina, having a short, curled tail, colonized for animal behavior studies.
- pileolated warbler — either of two western subspecies of Wilson's warbler.
- pilotless aircraft — an aircraft equipped for operation by radio or by robot control, without a human pilot aboard; drone.
- plains grasshopper — a large, destructive short-horned grasshopper, Brachystola magna, of the western U.S., marked by pinkish hind wings.
- plane of incidence — a plane determined by a given ray, incident on a surface, and the normal at the point where the incident ray strikes the surface.
- plane polarization — a type of polarization in which the electric vector of waves of light or other electromagnetic radiation is restricted to vibration in a single plane
- plane trigonometry — the branch of trigonometry dealing with plane triangles.
- planned parenthood — an organization that gives out information on the planning of the number and spacing of the births of one's children, as through the use of birth-control measures
- plate-glass window — a window that has glass which has been formed by rolling
- platinocyanic acid — the hypothetical acid containing platinum and the cyano group, H 2 Pt(CN) 4 .
- play cat and mouse — Also called cat and rat. a children's game in which players in a circle keep a player from moving into or out of the circle and permit a second player to move into or out of the circle to escape the pursuing first player.
- play catch-up ball — to adjust one's style of play so as to make up for a lack of points, runs, etc.
- play second fiddle — be considered less important
- play silly buggers — to fool around and waste time
- play someone false — to deceive, cheat, hoodwink, or betray someone
- play the race card — to introduce the subject of race into a public discussion, esp to gain a strategic advantage
- pleasure principle — an automatic mental drive or instinct seeking to avoid pain and to obtain pleasure.
- plenary indulgence — a remission of the total temporal punishment that is still due to sin after absolution. Compare indulgence (def 6).