16-letter words containing o, n, a, p
- law of parsimony — a principle according to which an explanation of a thing or event is made with the fewest possible assumptions.
- lay oneself open — to make oneself vulnerable (to criticism, attack, etc)
- league champions — the team that has come top of the league
- leaps and bounds — You can use in leaps and bounds or by leaps and bounds to emphasize that someone or something is improving or increasing quickly and greatly.
- learning process — a process of learning
- legal separation — judicial separation.
- leptosporangiate — (of ferns) having each sporangium developing from a single cell, rather than from a group, and normally with specialized explosive spore dispersal
- light adaptation — the reflex adaptation of the eye to bright light, consisting of an increase in the number of functioning cones, accompanied by a decrease in the number of functioning rods (opposed to dark adaptation).
- look up and down — to search everywhere
- loop combination — A program transformation where the bodies of two loops are merged into one thus reducing the overhead of manipulating and testing the control variable and branching. Further optimisation of the merged code may then become possible. In horizontal loop combination the bodies of the loops are largely independent so only the loop overhead is saved. Vertical loop combination applies where the results of the first loop are used by the second. Combining the two allows the intermediate results to be used immediately (in registers) rather than requiring them to be stored in an array. The functional equivalent of horizontal and vertical loop combination are tupling and fusion.
- lower palatinate — See under Palatinate (def 1).
- lymphangiography — x-ray visualization of lymph vessels and nodes following injection of a contrast medium.
- machine operator — someone who operates mechanical equipment
- macpherson strut — an automobile suspension-system component that consists of a strut combined with a spring and shock absorber and connects the wheel to the frame of the vehicle.
- magmatic stoping — the process by which country rock is broken up and engulfed by the upward movement of magma
- magnetic compass — a compass having a magnetized needle generally in line with the magnetic poles of the earth.
- magnetoreceptors — Plural form of magnetoreceptor.
- majority opinion — an opinion in a case that is shared by more than half of the members of a court
- make a complaint — If a guest makes a complaint, they express their dissatisfaction with something.
- malapportionment — (of a state or other political unit) poorly apportioned, especially divided, organized, or structured in a manner that prevents large sections of a population from having equitable representation in a legislative body.
- man booker prize — an annual prize for a work of Commonwealth or Irish fiction of £50,000, awarded as the Booker Prize from 1969–2002
- mangrove snapper — gray snapper.
- manic depression — bipolar disorder.
- many-plumed moth — a moth of the species, Alucita hexadactyla
- marriage portion — dowry.
- marsupialization — (surgery) The surgical technique of cutting a slit into a cyst and suturing its edges to form a continuous surface from the exterior to the interior of the cyst, allowing it to drain freely.
- mechanoreception — The action of a mechanoreceptor.
- mechanoreceptive — Responsive to mechanical stimuli such as sound and touch.
- mechanoreceptors — Plural form of mechanoreceptor.
- media atropatene — an ancient region in NW Iran, formerly a part of Media.
- megacorporations — Plural form of megacorporation.
- megaphanerophyte — any tree with a height over 30 metres
- megasporogenesis — the formation and development of megaspores.
- menstrual period — the bleeding from the womb that occurs approximately monthly in nonpregnant women of reproductive age
- metamorphization — Process or action of metamorphizing.
- metamorphosising — Present participle of metamorphosise.
- methyl parathion — a synthetic pesticide, C 8 H 1 0 NO 5 PS, used in the control of mites and various insects, as aphids, boll weevils, and cutworms.
- microangiopathic — Of, pertaining to or accompanied by microangiopathy.
- microencapsulate — (transitive) To embed by means of microencapsulation.
- micromanipulator — A device, used for micromanipulation, consisting of microscopic needles and instruments viewed through a microscope.
- microprogramming — microcode
- micropropagation — the propagation of plants from tissue cultures, often from single cells.
- mineral deposits — amounts of minerals that occur naturally in particular areas
- miniature poodle — a breed of poodle, bred to be much smaller than standard poodles
- misanthropically — In a misanthropic manner.
- misapprehensions — Plural form of misapprehension.
- misappropriating — Present participle of misappropriate.
- misappropriation — to put to a wrong use.
- mispronunciation — (uncountable) The act of mispronouncing.
- misspecification — An incorrect specification.