16-letter words containing o, n, p
- polyvinyl acetal — any of the class of thermoplastic resins derived by the condensation of an aldehyde with polyvinyl alcohol.
- polyvinyl formal — a colorless, water-insoluble, polyvinyl acetal produced from partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl acetate and formaldehyde, used chiefly in the manufacture of lacquers.
- ponderosa (pine) — a yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa) of W North America, valued for its timber
- pop the question — to make a short, quick, explosive sound: The cork popped.
- porcelain enamel — a glass coating, made to adhere to a metal or another enamel by fusion.
- pork scratchings — small pieces of crisply cooked pork crackling, eaten cold as an appetizer with drinks
- portmanteau word — a case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, especially a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves.
- portrait painter — artist: paints likenesses
- portuguese india — a former Portuguese overseas territory on the W coast of India, consisting of the districts of Gôa, Daman, and Diu: annexed by India December 1961. Capital: Gôa.
- positive vetting — the checking of a person's background, political affiliation, etc, to assess his suitability for a position that may involve national security
- possession order — (in Britain) a court order that entitles a landlord legally to evict a tenant or squatter and regain possession of the property
- post-elizabethan — of or relating to the reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England, or to her times: Elizabethan diplomacy; Elizabethan music.
- post-pleistocene — noting or pertaining to the epoch forming the earlier half of the Quaternary Period, beginning about two million years ago and ending 10,000 years ago, characterized by widespread glacial ice and the advent of modern humans.
- post-reformation — the act of reforming; state of being reformed.
- post-renaissance — the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art, literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world.
- post-romanticism — romantic spirit or tendency.
- postencephalitic — inflammation of the substance of the brain.
- postfix notation — (language) (Or "Reverse Polish Notation", RPN) One of the possible orderings of functions and operands: in postfix notation the functions are preceded by all their operands. For example, what may normally be written as "1+2" becomes "1 2 +". Postfix notation is well suited for stack based architectures but modern compilers reduced this advantage considerably. The best-known language with postfix syntax is FORTH. Some Hewlett-Packard calculators use it, e.g. HP-25, HP-29C, HP-41C, HP-23SII. Compare: infix notation, prefix notation.
- postindependence — Also, independency. the state or quality of being independent.
- postremogeniture — a system of inheritance under which the estate of a deceased person goes to his youngest son. Also called ultimogeniture. Compare primogeniture (def 2).
- postscript point — (unit, text) The variant of the point used by Postscript, equal to 0.3527777778 mm, or 1/72 inch.
- potemkin village — a pretentiously showy or imposing façade intended to mask or divert attention from an embarrassing or shabby fact or condition.
- potential energy — the energy of a body or a system with respect to the position of the body or the arrangement of the particles of the system.
- pourriture noble — noble rot.
- poverty-stricken — suffering from poverty; extremely poor: poverty-stricken refugees.
- poynting theorem — the theorem that the rate of flow of electromagnetic energy through unit area is equal to the Poynting vector, i.e. the cross product of the electric and magnetic field intensities
- practical reason — (in Kantian ethics) reason applied to the problem of action and choice, especially in ethical matters.
- practice session — a period of training that takes place over a set period of time, for example an hour or several hours
- praetorian guard — the bodyguard of a military commander, especially the imperial guard stationed in Rome.
- prairie schooner — a type of covered wagon, similar to but smaller than the Conestoga wagon, used by pioneers in crossing the prairies and plains of North America.
- pre-conversation — informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy.
- pre-emancipation — the act of emancipating.
- pre-registration — the act of registering.
- pre-solicitation — the act of soliciting.
- pre-subscription — a sum of money given or pledged as a contribution, payment, investment, etc.
- precast concrete — ready-formed cement mixture
- precinct station — a police station for police responsible for a district of a city
- preconcentration — the act of concentrating; the state of being concentrated.
- precontemplation — the act of contemplating; thoughtful observation.
- predetermination — to settle or decide in advance: He had predetermined his answer to the offer.
- predispositional — the fact or condition of being predisposed: a predisposition to think optimistically.
- preference stock — preferred stock.
- premier division — a football or soccer league division consisting of the top ten Scottish football teams
- prerevolutionary — of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change: a revolutionary junta.
- prescription pad — a pad of prescriptions used by doctors, etc
- presence of mind — a calm state of mind that allows one to think clearly or act effectively in an emergency.
- presentation box — a specially designed and attractive box to hold a product, and make it look more impressive
- prespecification — the act of specifying.
- press conference — a prearranged interview with news reporters, held to elicit publicity or, as granted by a dignitary, public official, research scientist, etc., to fulfill a request from the press.
- prestidigitation — sleight of hand; legerdemain.