15-letter words containing m, o, s, t, a
- overcompensates — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of overcompensate.
- overstimulation — to rouse to action or effort, as by encouragement or pressure; spur on; incite: to stimulate his interest in mathematics.
- ozark mountains — an eroded plateau in S Missouri, N Arkansas, and NE Oklahoma. Area: about 130 000 sq km (50 000 sq miles)
- palaeomagnetism — the study of the fossil magnetism in rocks, used to determine the past configurations of the continents and to investigate the past shape and magnitude of the earth's magnetic field
- palaeomagnetist — a student of or expert in palaeomagnetism
- pamprodactylous — having all four toes directed forward, as in swifts and colies.
- panophthalmitis — the inflammation of all eye tissue
- panoramic sight — an artillery sight that can be rotated horizontally in a full circle.
- pantopragmatics — universal intervention in the affairs of others
- paurometabolous — designating or of a group of insect orders, as orthopterans or hemipterans, in which metamorphosis to the adult state from the juvenile state is gradual and without any sudden, radical change of body form
- pectoral muscle — muscle of the chest
- performing arts — dance, drama, music
- pergamentaceous — (esp of plants) resembling parchment, whether in texture or composition
- peter of amiens — c1050–1115, French monk: preacher of the first Crusade 1095–99.
- phenomenalistic — the doctrine that phenomena are the only objects of knowledge or the only form of reality.
- photojournalism — journalism in which photography dominates written copy, as in certain magazines.
- plagiostomatous — plagiostome
- plainclothesman — a police officer, especially a detective, who wears ordinary civilian clothes while on duty.
- platform scales — a weighing machine which has a platform that you put something on to be weighed
- platform tennis — a variation of tennis played on a wooden platform enclosed with chicken wire in which the players hit a rubber ball with wooden paddles following the same basic rules as tennis except that only one serve is permitted and balls can be played off the back and side fences.
- plethysmography — the tracking of changes measured in bodily volume
- pontifical mass — (sometimes lowercase) Roman Catholic Church. a High Mass celebrated by a bishop or other prelate.
- pontine marshes — an area of W Italy, southeast of Rome: formerly malarial swamps, drained in 1932–34 after numerous attempts since 160 bc had failed
- posse comitatus — the body of persons that a peace officer of a county is empowered to call upon for assistance in preserving the peace, making arrests, and serving writs.
- post-millennial — of or relating to the period following the millennium.
- posthemorrhagic — occurring after a haemorrhage
- postman's knock — a children's party game in which a kiss is exchanged for a pretend letter
- poststimulation — occurring after stimulation
- poststimulatory — following stimulation
- power macintosh — Power Mac
- pre-romanticism — romantic spirit or tendency.
- preformationism — the belief in the theory of preformation
- preformationist — someone who advocates the theory of preformation
- presentationism — the doctrine that in perception, or in all forms of knowledge, there is an immediate awareness of the things perceived.
- preservationism — a person who advocates or promotes preservation, especially of wildlife, natural areas, or historical places.
- primary storage — main memory
- programme notes — notes designed to act as guide to an audience listening to live (esp classical) music. They will inform about the sequence of music played and may give some information about the music
- provost marshal — Army. an officer on the staff of a commander, charged with the maintaining of order and with other police functions within a command.
- proximity talks — a diplomatic process whereby an impartial representative acts as go-between for two opposing parties who are willing to attend the same conference but unwilling to meet face to face
- proxy statement — a statement containing information, frequently exhaustive, about a corporation, its officers, and any propositions to be voted on, sent to stockholders when their proxies are being solicited for an annual or a special stockholders' meeting.
- pseudo-dramatic — of or relating to the drama.
- pseudo-military — of, for, or pertaining to the army or armed forces, often as distinguished from the navy: from civilian to military life.
- pseudo-romantic — of, relating to, or of the nature of romance; characteristic or suggestive of the world of romance: a romantic adventure.
- pseudocoelomate — having a pseudocoel.
- pseudomutuality — a relationship between two persons in which conflict of views or opinions is solved by simply ignoring it
- put sb to shame — If someone puts you to shame, they make you feel ashamed because they do something much better than you do.
- quasi-automatic — having the capability of starting, operating, moving, etc., independently: an automatic sprinkler system; an automatic car wash.
- question master — quizmaster.
- quotation marks — one of the marks used to indicate the beginning and end of a quotation, in English usually shown as “ at the beginning and ” at the end, or, for a quotation within a quotation, of single marks of this kind, as “He said, ‘I will go.’ ” Frequently, especially in Great Britain, single marks are used instead of double, the latter being then used for a quotation within a quotation.
- radar astronomy — the branch of astronomy that uses radar to map the surfaces of planetary bodies, as the moon and Venus, and to determine periods of rotation.