17-letter words containing m, p, u
- self-priming pump — A self-priming pump is a pump that will clear its passages of air and start pumping.
- septicemic plague — an especially dangerous form of plague in which the infecting organisms invade the bloodstream. Compare plague (def 2).
- sexual dimorphism — the condition in which the males and females in a species are morphologically different, as with many birds.
- shuttle diplomacy — diplomatic negotiations carried out by a mediator who travels back and forth between the negotiating parties.
- single supplement — A single supplement is an additional sum of money that a hotel charges for one person to stay in a room meant for two people.
- sliding vane pump — A sliding vane pump is a pump in which the vanes (=flat parts) are the main sealing element between the suction and discharge areas.
- sodium propionate — a transparent, crystalline, water-soluble powder, C 3 H 5 NaO 2 , used in foodstuffs to prevent mold growth, and in medicine as a fungicide.
- sodium pyroborate — borax1 .
- sodium-vapor lamp — an electric lamp in which sodium vapor is activated by current passing between two electrodes, producing a yellow, glareless light: used on streets and highways.
- sound spectrogram — a graphic representation, produced by a sound spectrograph, of the frequency, intensity, duration, and variation with time of the resonance of a sound or series of sounds.
- south sea company — a British joint stock company that traded in South America in the 18th century. The South Sea Company took over the national debt in return for a monopoly of trade with the South Seas, causing feverish speculation in their stocks, and a financial crash in 1720 (the South Sea Bubble)
- southampton water — an inlet of the English Channel in S England
- spatial summation — the act or process of summing.
- specific humidity — the ratio of the mass of water vapor in air to the total mass of the mixture of air and water vapor.
- spectrum analyser — an instrument that splits an input waveform into its frequency components, which are then displayed
- spectrum analysis — the determination of the constitution or condition of bodies and substances by means of the spectra they produce.
- spectrum disorder — any of a group of disorders each having symptoms that occur on a continuum and certain features that are shared along its spectrum but that manifest in markedly different forms and degrees. See also autism spectrum disorder.
- sperrin mountains — a mountain range in NW Northern Ireland
- spiritus frumenti — whiskey.
- spot announcement — a brief radio or television announcement, usually an advertisement, made by an individual station during or after a network program.
- stand-up comedian — performer: tells jokes
- stir one's stumps — to move or become active
- storm in a teacup — a violent fuss or disturbance over a trivial matter
- stump-jump plough — a plough designed for use on land not cleared of stumps
- suction lipectomy — the removal of fatty tissue by making a small incision in the skin, loosening the fat layer, and withdrawing it by suction.
- sunday supplement — a special section incorporated in the Sunday editions of many newspapers, often containing features on books, celebrities, home entertainment, gardening, and the like.
- super-nationalism — an extreme or fanatical loyalty or devotion to a nation.
- superaerodynamics — the branch of aerodynamics that deals with gases at very low densities.
- superalimentation — nourishment; nutrition.
- supercolumniation — the placing of one order of columns above another.
- supermassive star — Astronomy. a star with a mass more than fifty times the mass of the sun.
- supernova remnant — an expanding shell of gas, with accompanying strong radio and x-ray emissions, produced by a supernova.
- supply and demand — economy: basic market theory
- supply management — business purchasing
- support mechanism — any formal system or method of providing support or assistance
- supra-nationalism — outside or beyond the authority of one national government, as a project or policy that is planned and controlled by a group of nations.
- supralapsarianism — the doctrine that the decree of election preceded human creation and the Fall (opposed to infralapsarianism).
- supreme commander — the military officer commanding all allied forces in a theater of war.
- supreme sacrifice — the sacrifice of one's own life: Many made the supreme sacrifice during the war.
- surprise symphony — the Symphony No. 94 in G major (1791) by Franz Josef Haydn.
- telephone numbers — extremely large numbers, esp in reference to salaries or prices
- temperature chart — a chart monitoring and recording somebody's body temperature, as of a patient at a hospital, etc
- temperature gauge — a device which shows the temperature or heat of something
- temporary account — A temporary account is an account which is closed out at the end of the year.
- temporomandibular — of, relating to, or situated near the hinge joint formed by the lower jaw and the temporal bone of the skull.
- the underemployed — underemployed people
- thermal pollution — a rise in the temperature of rivers or lakes that is injurious to water-dwelling life and is caused by the disposal of heated industrial waste water or water from the cooling towers of nuclear power plants.
- thiopental sodium — a barbiturate, C 11 H 18 N 2 NaO 2 S, used as an anesthetic in surgery and, in psychiatry, for narcoanalysis and to stimulate recall of past events.
- to come up trumps — If you say that someone came up trumps, you mean that they did something successfully, often when they were not expected to.
- to eat humble pie — If you eat humble pie, you speak or behave in a way which tells people that you admit you were wrong about something.