20-letter words containing o, r
- prosthetic dentistry — prosthodontics.
- prothonotary warbler — a wood warbler, Protonotaria citrea, of the eastern U.S., having an orange-yellow head and underparts, and bluish-gray wings and tail.
- pseudoparenchymatous — (in certain fungi and red algae) a compact mass of tissue, made up of interwoven hyphae or filaments, that superficially resembles plant tissue.
- psychiatric hospital — institution treating mental disorders
- psychometric testing — the use of psychometric tests, often as a selection method
- psychomotor epilepsy — temporal-lobe epilepsy.
- public administrator — an official of a city, county, or state government.
- public record office — an institution in which official records are stored and kept available for inspection by the public
- pull (one's) rank on — to take advantage of one's military rank in enforcing commands or one's high position or seniority in making demands on (a subordinate)
- put the hard word on — to ask or demand something from
- pyroligneous alcohol — methyl alcohol.
- pythagoras's theorem — (mathematics) The theorem of geometry, named after Pythagoras, of Samos, Ionia, stating that, for a right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides. I.e. if the longest side has length A and the other sides have lengths B and C (in any units), A^2 = B^2 + C^2 (2004-02-12)
- quadrantal corrector — either of two soft-iron spheres attached to each side of a binnacle, intended to correct the compass deviation (quadrantal deviation) resulting from magnetism from ferrous metal in a ship.
- quaker meeting house — a place where Quakers gather for worship
- quantum cryptography — a method of coding information based on quantum mechanics, which is said to be unbreakable
- quantum field theory — any theory in which fields are treated by the methods of quantum mechanics; each field can then be regarded as consisting of particles of a particular kind, which may be created and annihilated.
- quarantine anchorage — an anchorage for ships awaiting a pratique.
- quasi-stellar object — quasar. Abbreviation: QSO.
- queen of the prairie — a tall plant, Filipendula rubra, of the rose family, having branching clusters of pink flowers, growing in meadows and prairies.
- queensland arrowroot — a South American and West Indian herb, Canna edulis, having large sheathing leaves, red flowers, and edible rhizomes.
- quick on the trigger — quick to fire a gun
- rachel louise carson — Christopher ("Kit") 1809–68, U.S. frontiersman and scout.
- radial triangulation — triangulation based upon lines radiating from the center of each of two overlapping photographs to certain objects appearing on each photograph.
- radiation resistance — the resistive component of the impedance of a radio transmitting aerial that arises from the radiation of power
- radio interferometer — any of several different types of instrumentation designed to observe interference patterns of electromagnetic radiation at radio wavelengths: used in the discovery and measurement of radio sources in the atmosphere.
- raise one's glass to — to drink the health of; drink a toast to
- random access memory — RAM.
- random-access memory — RAM.
- rapid reaction force — a force that can be deployed swiftly to a site of conflict or potential conflict
- raynaud's phenomenon — a secondary circulatory disorder, often associated with a primary vascular disease, characterized by changes of blood flow resulting in white, bluish, or red hands and feet
- read the riot act to — to command to stop doing something regarded as wrong, under threat of punishment
- read-eval-print loop — (language, LISP, programming) (REPL) A programming structure within LISP which repeatedly reads a form from the user, evaluates it, and displays the result. A read-eval-print loop forms the basis of the Top-Level shell that programmers of the LISP family of languages interact with. In many dialects of LISP a very simple REPL could be implemented as: (loop (print (eval (read)))). (2003-06-23)
- real-time processing — data-processing by a computer which receives constantly changing data, such as information relating to air-traffic control, travel booking systems, etc, and processes it sufficiently rapidly to be able to control the source of the data
- receivables turnover — A receivables turnover is a measure of cash flow that is calculated by dividing net credit sales by average accounts receivable.
- reciprocal insurance — insurance in which members of a reciprocal exchange, acting through an attorney-in-fact, insure themselves and each other.
- reciprocating engine — an engine in which one or more pistons move backwards and forwards inside a cylinder or cylinders
- recommended standard — (standard) (RS) A series of EIA standards including EIA-232.
- reconcile an account — If you reconcile an account, you compare the items in a bank statement, credit card statement, or vendor statement with the entries on your books and make sure that the statement and books match.
- recreational therapy — therapy by means of recreational activities engaged in by the patient
- recreational vehicle — a van or utility vehicle used for recreational purposes, as camping, and often equipped with living facilities. Abbreviation: RV.
- recursive definition — a definition consisting of a set of rules such that by repeated application of the rules the meaning of the definiendum is uniquely determined in terms of ideas that are already familiar.
- recursive subroutine — a subroutine that can call itself as part of its execution
- red badge of courage — a novel (1895) by Stephen Crane.
- redheaded woodpecker — a North American woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), with a bright-red head and neck, black back, and white underparts
- reductio ad absurdum — a reduction to an absurdity; the refutation of a proposition by demonstrating the inevitably absurd conclusion to which it would logically lead.
- reflecting telescope — an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms (refracting telescope) consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form (reflecting telescope) has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed. Compare radio telescope.
- refracting telescope — an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms (refracting telescope) consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form (reflecting telescope) has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed. Compare radio telescope.
- refrigerator-freezer — a large appliance housing one compartment for refrigerating food and another for freezing.
- refuse disposal unit — a unit or part of a sink that disposes of waste food, etc, by grinding
- regenerative cooling — Physics. a method of cooling a gas, utilizing the rapid expansion of a compressed portion of the gas, before it becomes liquid, to cool the remainder.