18-letter words containing n, o, i, r, d
- production manager — a supervisor of the budget, crew and other details in the production of a film or play
- productivity bonus — an extra payment made to workers for being more productive or yielding more favourable results than normal
- progressive coding — (graphics, file format, algorithm) (Or "interlacing") An aspect of a graphics storage format or transmission algorithm that treats bitmap image data non-sequentially in such a way that later data adds progressively greater resolution to an already full-size image. This contrasts with sequential coding. Progressive coding is useful when an image is being sent across a slow communications channel, such as the Internet, as the low-resolution image may be sufficient to allow the user to decide not to wait for the rest of the file to be received. In an interlaced GIF89 image, the pixels in a row are stored sequentially but the rows are stored in interlaced order, e.g. 0, 8, 4, 12, 2, 6, 8, 10, 14, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15. Each vertical scan adds rows in the middle of the gaps left by the previous one. Interlacing is also supported by other formats. JPEG supports a functionally similar concept known as Progressive JPEG. [How does the algorithm differ?] See also progressive/sequential coding.
- progressive dinner — a dinner party in which each successive course is prepared and eaten at the residence of a different participant.
- propaganda machine — the group of people, publications, etc, such as of a government, country etc, responsible for the organized dissemination of information, allegations, etc, to assist or damage the cause of a government, movement, etc
- protein deficiency — a lack or insuffiency of protein
- protocol data unit — (PDU) A packet of data passed across a network. The term implies a specific layer of the OSI seven layer model and a specific protocol.
- pseudo-anarchistic — a person who advocates or believes in anarchy or anarchism.
- qattara depression — a desert basin in the Libyan Desert, in NW Egypt: lowest point is 435 feet (133 meters) below sea level. 6950 sq. mi. (18,000 sq. km).
- quadratic equation — an equation containing a single variable of degree 2. Its general form is ax 2 + bx + c = 0, where x is the variable and a, b, and c are constants (a ≠ 0).
- quartz-iodine lamp — a type of tungsten-halogen lamp containing small amounts of iodine and having a quartz envelope, operating at high temperature and producing an intense light for use in car headlamps, etc
- radiation exposure — exposure to radiant energy or to the particles emitted in the transfer of radiant energy, esp the particles and gamma rays emitted in nuclear decay; exposure to radioactive substances
- radiation pressure — the pressure exerted on a surface by electromagnetic radiation or by sound waves.
- radiation sickness — sickness caused by irradiation with x-rays or other nuclear radiation as a result of therapeutic treatment, accidental exposure, or a nuclear bomb explosion and characterized by nausea, vomiting, headache, cramps, diarrhea, loss of hair and teeth, destruction of white blood cells, and prolonged hemorrhage.
- radical expression — an expression in which radical signs appear.
- radio range beacon — a radio transmitter that utilizes two or more directional antennas and transmits signals differing with direction, permitting a flier receiving a signal to determine his or her approximate bearing from the transmitter without a radio compass.
- radioactive dating — any method of determining the age of earth materials or objects of organic origin based on measurement of either short-lived radioactive elements or the amount of a long-lived radioactive element plus its decay product.
- radiocarbon dating — the determination of the age of objects of organic origin by measurement of the radioactivity of their carbon content.
- radiocommunication — communication by means of radio waves
- radiometric dating — any method of determining the age of earth materials or objects of organic origin based on measurement of either short-lived radioactive elements or the amount of a long-lived radioactive element plus its decay product.
- radius of gyration — the distance from an axis at which the mass of a body may be assumed to be concentrated and at which the moment of inertia will be equal to the moment of inertia of the actual mass about the axis, equal to the square root of the quotient of the moment of inertia and the mass.
- ragtag and bobtail — the riffraff; rabble: The ragtag and bobtail of every nation poured into the frontier in search of gold.
- rain cats and dogs — water that is condensed from the aqueous vapor in the atmosphere and falls to earth in drops more than 1/50 inch (0.5 mm) in diameter. Compare drizzle (def 6).
- rapid eye movement — rapidly shifting, continuous movements of the eyes beneath closed lids during the stage of sleep characterized by dreaming.
- reduction division — the first division of meiosis in which the number of chromosomes is reduced to half the original number.
- reduction strategy — (theory) An algorithm for deciding which redex(es) to reduce next. Different strategies have different termination properties in the presence of recursive functions or values. See string reduction, normal order reduction, applicative order reduction, parallel reduction
- reflection density — a measure of the extent to which a surface reflects light or other electromagnetic radiation, equal to the logarithm to base ten of the reciprocal of the reflectance
- registered company — a company which has officially registered its business
- reinforced plastic — plastic with fibrous matter, such as carbon fibre, embedded in it to confer additional strength
- report an accident — If you report an accident, you inform an insurer or the police or other authorities that an accident has occurred.
- repossession order — If a bank or building society issues a repossession order, they officially tell someone that they are going to repossess their home.
- reproduction proof — repro proof.
- rescind a contract — If an insurer rescinds an insurance contract, it terminates it because facts have been concealed or misrepresented by the proposer.
- residential school — (in Canada) a boarding school maintained by the Canadian government for Indian and Inuit children from sparsely populated settlements
- restoration comedy — English comedy of the period of the Restoration, stressing manners and social satire.
- restraint of trade — action tending to interrupt the free flow of goods and services, as by price fixing and other practices that have the effect of reducing competition.
- retrograde amnesia — a memory disorder characterized by an inability to remember events or experiences that occurred before a significant point in time.
- rhode island white — one of a dual-purpose American breed of chickens having white feathers and a rose comb.
- rhyming dictionary — a specialist dictionary organized by the final sounds of words, used to write poetry
- ribbon development — housing or commercial buildings built along a stretch of road.
- rotational molding — a method for molding hollow plastic objects by placing finely divided particles in a hollow mold that is rotated about two axes, exposing it to heat and then to cold.
- rufous hummingbird — a reddish-brown hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, of western North America.
- russian federation — a republic extending from E Europe to N and W Asia. 6,593,000 sq. mi. (17,076,000 sq. km). Capital: Moscow.
- saint george's day — April 23, celebrated in parts of the British Commonwealth in honor of the patron saint of Britain and especially in New Zealand as a bank holiday.
- saint john's bread — carob (def 2).
- saturated solution — A saturated solution is a solution in which there is so much solute that if there was any more, it would not dissolve.
- science dictionary — a specialized dictionary covering terms in the life, earth, and physical sciences, such as the online Science Dictionary on Dictionary.com. A science dictionary includes many technical terms with precise, specialized meanings—terms not normally found in general dictionaries—making it an invaluable resource for students and professionals in scientific fields.
- scissors-and-paste — designating or of a piece of writing that has been assembled from a variety of sources rather than by original research, often in a hasty or uninspired way
- scottish deerhound — one of a Scottish breed of large, tall hunting dogs having a medium-length, wiry, gray or reddish-fawn coat, originally developed for hunting and bringing down deer, and known as the royal dog of Scotland.
- seafloor spreading — a process in which new ocean floor is created as molten material from the earth's mantle rises in margins between plates or ridges and spreads out.