23-letter words containing o, n, e, r
- postcode discrimination — discrimination on the basis of the area where someone lives, with relation to employment, credit rating, etc
- power factor correction — Power factor correction is the process of increasing the power factor to near unity without altering the original load.
- precautionary principle — the precept that an action should not be taken if the consequences are uncertain and potentially dangerous
- precipitation hardening — a process in which alloys are strengthened by the formation, in their lattice, of a fine dispersion of one component when the metal is quenched from a high temperature and aged at an intermediate temperature
- preferred provider plan — A preferred provider plan is a health insurance plan in the U.S. written by an organization of hospitals and physicians who provide services to clients of a particular insurance company.
- presidential government — a system of government in which the powers of the president are constitutionally separate from those of the legislature.
- price escalation clause — a clause in a contract allowing the seller to raise prices if the cost of inputs increases
- printer access protocol — (networking, protocol, printer) (PAP) A protocol used in Mac OS Appletalk to provide bi-directional communication between PostScript printers and the client computer.
- private limited company — a company whose shares can be bought by the public
- process gas compression — Process gas compression is a procedure for pressurizing and circulating gas through a process by compressing it in a cylinder, to enhance conditions for chemical reaction.
- process hazard analysis — Process hazard analysis is calculating what might be a hazard in a process, how likely it is to happen, and what should be done if someone or something is exposed to this hazard.
- process intensification — Process intensification is a change made to a process to make it work in a smaller volume for the same performance.
- product differentiation — the real or illusory distinction between competing products in a market
- professional misconduct — a violation of the rules or boundaries set by the governing body of a profession
- program design language — Any of a large class of formal and profoundly useless pseudo-languages in which management forces one to design programs. Too often, management expects PDL descriptions to be maintained in parallel with the code, imposing massive overhead of little or no benefit. See also flow chart.
- programmer brain damage — (humour) (PBD) A classification of a bug which was obviously introduced by an incompetent or short-sighted programmer. Compare UBD. See also brain-damaged.
- provocative maintenance — [Common ironic mutation of "preventive maintenance"] Actions performed upon a machine at regularly scheduled intervals to ensure that the system remains in a usable state. So called because it is all too often performed by a field servoid who doesn't know what he is doing; such "maintenance" often *induces* problems, or otherwise results in the machine's remaining in an *un*usable state for an indeterminate amount of time. See also scratch monkey.
- psychomotor retardation — a generalized slowing of psychological and physical activity, frequently occurring as a symptom of severe depression.
- public enemy number one — (not in official use) a criminal at the top of the FBI's list of the ten most wanted criminals.
- public sector borrowing — government borrowing to fund the public sector
- puerto rican royal palm — a feather palm, Roystonea borinquena, of Puerto Rico and St. Croix, having leaves about 10 feet (3 meters) long and egg-shaped, yellowish-brown fruit.
- put one's finger on sth — If you put your finger on something, for example a reason or problem, you see and identify exactly what it is.
- put through one's paces — a rate of movement, especially in stepping, walking, etc.: to walk at a brisk pace of five miles an hour.
- quantum electrodynamics — the quantum field theory that deals with the electromagnetic field and its interaction with electrons and positrons. Abbreviation: QED.
- quay financial software — CSK Software
- queen charlotte islands — a group of about 150 islands off the W coast of Canada: part of British Columbia. Pop: about 6000 (latest est). Area: 9596 sq km (3705 sq miles)
- queenborough in sheppey — a town in SE England, in Kent: formed in 1968 by the amalgamation of Queenborough, Sheerness, and Sheppey. Pop: 3471 (2001)
- quod erat demonstrandum — (at the conclusion of a proof, esp of a theorem in Euclidean geometry) which was to be proved
- quota share reinsurance — Quota share reinsurance is a form of reinsurance in which the reinsurer accepts a certain percentage of all or certain parts of the business of the reinsured person or company.
- quote chapter and verse — [by analogy with the mainstream phrase] To cite a relevant excerpt from an appropriate bible. "I don't care if "rn" gets it wrong; "Followup-To: poster" is explicitly permitted by RFC 1036. I'll quote chapter and verse if you don't believe me." See also legalese, language lawyer, RTFS (sense 2).
- radio direction finding — the act or process of finding the direction to a radio source by comparing the signal strength of antennae pointing in different directions
- random number generator — a piece of computer software used to create a sequence of random numbers
- rank outsider/outsiders — If one of the people in a competition is described as a rank outsider, they are considered to have very little chance of winning.
- rate-of-climb indicator — a flight instrument that indicates the rate of climb or descent of an aircraft.
- real simple syndication — (spelling) Illiterate form of Really Simple Syndication.
- rectangular coordinates — Usually, rectangular coordinates. either of two Cartesian coordinates in which the axes meet at right angles.
- refinery waste disposal — Refinery waste disposal is the system for dealing with waste materials, especially hazardous ones, in a refinery.
- regressive assimilation — assimilation in which a following sound has an effect on a preceding one, as in pronouncing have in have to as [haf] /hæf/ (Show IPA) influenced by the voiceless (t) in to.
- reincarnation, cycle of — cycle of reincarnation
- relative sunspot number — a number indicating the degree of sunspot activity on the sun as a factor of observer idiosyncrasies, the number of sunspot groups, and the number of individual sunspots.
- relativity of knowledge — the theory that all knowledge is relative to the mind, or that things can be known only through their effects on the mind, and that consequently there can be no knowledge of reality as it is in itself
- respondent conditioning — conditioning (def 2).
- response generalization — generalization (def 4b).
- response-generalization — the act or process of generalizing.
- retrolental fibroplasia — an unusual eye disease occurring in premature infants, usually from being given high concentrations of oxygen, which causes abnormal formation of fibrous tissue behind the lens and often results in blindness.
- reverse polish notation — postfix notation
- revision control system — (software, tool) (RCS) A version control system that automates the storing, retrieval, logging, identification, and merging of revisions. RCS is useful for text that is revised frequently, for example programs, documentation, graphics, papers, and form letters.
- rite of intensification — a ritual or ceremony performed by a community in a time of crisis that affects all members, as a rain dance during a drought.
- rocky mountain beeplant — a rank-smelling plant, Cleome serrulata, of the caper family, native to the western U.S., having showy, dense clusters of pink or white flowers, frequented by bees.
- roentgen equivalent man — the dose of ionizing radiation that produces the same effect in man as one roentgen of x- or gamma-radiation