20-letter words containing o, p, i, a, t, e
- sex change operation — a surgical operation designed to change a person's physical sexual characteristics to those of the opposite sex
- sharp-tailed sparrow — a sparrow, Ammospiza caudacuta, inhabiting salt marshes in North America, having narrow, sharply pointed tail feathers.
- societal development — the formation and transformation of social life, customs, institutions, etc.
- soft gelatin capsule — A soft gelatin capsule is a type of capsule that is usually used to contain medicine in the form of liquid or powder, and which dissolves more quickly than a hard gelatin capsule.
- south american plate — a major tectonic division of the earth's crust, comprising the continent of South America and several ocean basins and bounded on the north by the Caribbean Plate, on the east by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, on the west by a submarine trench that borders the western coast of the continent, and on the south by the Antarctic Plate.
- space-time continuum — Also called space-time continuum. the four-dimensional continuum, having three spatial coordinates and one temporal coordinate, in which all physical quantities may be located.
- spanish oyster plant — a composite plant, Scolymus hispanicus, of southern Europe, having spiny, thistlelike leaf margins, small yellow flowers, and an edible root.
- spatial technologies — (company) Distributors of the ACIS solid modelling engine.
- special boat service — a unit of the Royal Marines specializing in reconnaissance and sabotage
- special patrol group — a former police unit tasked with counter terrorism in the Royal Ulster Constabulary
- special relationship — the exceptionally close political, diplomatic, cultural and historical relations between the United States and the United Kingdom
- specific conductance — conductivity (def 2).
- specific-conductance — conductivity (def 2).
- spectroscopic binary — a binary star having components that are not sufficiently separated to be resolved by a telescope, known to be a binary only bythe variations in wavelength of emitted light that are detected by a spectroscope.
- spherical aberration — variation in focal length of a lens or mirror from center to edge, due to its spherical shape.
- spherical coordinate — Usually, spherical coordinates. any of three coordinates used to locate a point in space by the length of its radius vector and the angles this vector makes with two perpendicular polar planes.
- spontaneous abortion — miscarriage (def 1).
- spontaneous-abortion — Also called voluntary abortion. the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.
- spotted crane's-bill — the American wild geranium, Geranium maculatum.
- square of opposition — a diagrammatic representation of the opposition of categorical propositions.
- staff of aesculapius — a representation of a forked staff with an entwining serpent, used as a symbol of the medical profession and as the insignia of the American Medical Association and other medical organizations. Compare caduceus (def 2).
- state highway patrol — a state's road traffic police
- step into the breach — If you step into the breach, you do a job or task which someone else was supposed to do or has done in the past, because they are suddenly unable to do it.
- supersonic transport — a commercial jet airplane that can fly faster than the speed of sound. Abbreviation: SST.
- switchboard operator — a person who operates an installation in a telephone exchange, office, hotel, etc, at which the interconnection of telephone lines is manually controlled
- take pity on someone — If you take pity on someone, you feel sorry for them and help them.
- take up a collection — to get into one's hold or possession by voluntary action: to take a cigarette out of a box; to take a pen and begin to write.
- teletype corporation — (company) The company which made Teletype teletypewriters. Address: Skokie, Illinois, USA.
- television programme — a programme broadcast on television
- the beautiful people — rich, fashionable people in international high society
- the legal profession — the profession of law
- theosophical society — a society founded by Madame Blavatsky and others, in New York in 1875, advocating a worldwide eclectic religion based largely on Brahmanic and Buddhistic teachings.
- therapeutic abortion — abortion performed when a woman's pregnancy endangers her health.
- third-party software — software created by programmers or publishers independent of the manufacturer of the hardware for which it is intended.
- to bring up the rear — If a person or vehicle is bringing up the rear, they are the last person or vehicle in a moving line of them.
- to disturb the peace — If someone is accused of disturbing the peace, they are accused of behaving in a noisy and offensive way in public.
- to keep your hand in — If you do something to keep your hand in, you practise a skill or hobby occasionally in order to remain fairly good at it.
- to make up your mind — If you make up your mind or make your mind up, you decide which of a number of possible things you will have or do.
- to spread your wings — If you spread your wings, you do something new and rather difficult or move to a new place, because you feel more confident in your abilities than you used to and you want to gain wider experience.
- toxemia of pregnancy — an abnormal condition of pregnancy characterized by hypertension, fluid retention, edema, and the presence of protein in the urine.
- transposition cipher — a cipher that rearranges the letters of the plain text in a different sequence.
- tropical continental — a type of warm, dry air mass originating at low latitudes over land areas
- tropical disturbance — a very weak, or incipient, tropical cyclone.
- tropospheric scatter — transmission of radio frequency signals that have been scattered from irregularities in the troposphere to locations hundreds of kilometers distant.
- upper income bracket — a grouping of the highest earning tax payers
- upper yosemite falls — a section of Yosemite Falls in central California, in the Yosemite National Park that is 436 m (1430 ft) high
- vertical envelopment — envelopment of an enemy accomplished by parachuting and landing airborne troops at the rear of the enemy's position.
- western roman empire — the westernmost of the two empires created by the division of the later Roman Empire, esp after its final severance from the Eastern Roman Empire (395 ad)
- white bush (scallop) — a variety of summer squash having a saucer-shaped white fruit, scalloped around the edges
- winter olympic games — an international contest of winter sports, esp skiing, held every four years