19-letter words containing o, s, b, r
- observation balloon — a balloon that is used for gathering information and reconnaissance purposes and spotting aircraft
- olive-backed thrush — Swainson's thrush.
- on the baker's list — in good health
- optical double star — two stars that appear as one if not viewed through a telescope with adequate magnification, such as two stars that are separated by a great distance but are nearly in line with each other and an observer (optical double star) or those that are relatively close together and comprise a single physical system (physical double star)
- over sb's dead body — You can say over my dead body to emphasize that you feel very strongly that something should not happen, and that you will do everything you can to prevent it.
- palomar observatory — an astronomical observatory situated on Palomar Mountain in S California, having a 200-inch (508-cm) reflecting telescope and a 48-inch (122-cm) Schmidt telescope.
- pancreatic fibrosis — cystic fibrosis.
- personal belongings — possessions; things that belong to someone
- pointe-aux-trembles — a city in S Quebec, in E Canada, N of Montreal, on the St. Lawrence.
- portobello mushroom — a dark mushroom, strong in flavor, having a broad, flat cap that is often grilled and eaten
- post office problem — (algorithm) Given a set of points (in N dimensions), find another point which minimises the sum of the distances from that point to each of the others.
- potassium carbonate — a white, granular, water-soluble powder, K 2 CO 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of soap, glass, and potassium salts.
- profitability study — a study of how much profit a company, organization, etc, makes or how profitable it is
- protease inhibitors — a drug that inhibits the action of protease, especially any of a class of antiviral drugs that prevent the cleavage and replication of HIV proteins.
- provably unsolvable — The set or property of problems for which no algorithm at all exists. E.g. the Halting Problem. See also provably difficult.
- pseudo-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- pseudorandom number — (programming) One of a sequence of numbers generated by some algorithm so as to have an even distribution over some range of values and minimal correlation between successive values. Pseudorandom numbers are used in simulation and encryption. They are pseudorandom not random because the sequence eventually repeats exactly and is entirely determined by the initial conditions. One of the simplest algorithms is x[i+1] = (a * x[i] + c) mod m but this repeats after at most m numbers and successive numbers are closely related. Better algorithms generally use more previous numbers to calculate the next number.
- registration number — number on vehicle licence plate
- relational database — an electronic database comprising multiple files of related information, usually stored in tables of rows (records) and columns (fields), and allowing a link to be established between separate files that have a matching field, as a column of invoice numbers, so that the two files can be queried simultaneously by the user.
- removable hard disk — (storage) A type of magnetic disk, or possibly magneto-optical disk which is not permanently attached to the disk drive (not a fixed disk) but which can be taken out and replaced, allowing many disks to be used in the same drive. The term "removable disk" would seem to be applicable to floppy disks but is generally reserved for hard disks in suitable cartridges such as those made by Syquest, Iomega and others. Removable disk packs were common on minicomputers such as the PDP-11 in use in the 1970s except that the drives were the size of washing machines and the disk packs as big as car wheels. Removable disks became popular on microcomputers in the 1990s as a cheap way of expanding disk space, transporting large amounts of data between computers and storing backups. Large, cheap fixed hard disks and USB memory sticks have made removable disks less attractive.
- republic of letters — the collective body of literary people.
- research laboratory — place for scientific experimentation
- reversible reaction — a reaction that, depending on ambient conditions, can proceed in either of two directions: the production of the reaction products from the reactants, or the production of the original reactants from the formed reaction products. Compare equilibrium (def 4).
- rhodesian ridgeback — a large short-haired breed of dog characterized by a ridge of hair growing along the back in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat. It was originally a hunting dog from South Africa
- ring someone's bell — a hollow instrument of cast metal, typically cup-shaped with a flaring mouth, suspended from the vertex and rung by the strokes of a clapper, hammer, or the like.
- saber-toothed tiger — any of several extinct members of the cat family Felidae from the Oligocene to Pleistocene Epochs, having greatly elongated, saberlike upper canine teeth.
- sabre-toothed tiger — any of various extinct Tertiary felines of the genus Smilodon and related genera, with long curved upper canine teeth
- saddle-billed stork — a large stork, Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, of West Africa, having a white and black body and a long, red and black bill.
- san bernardino pass — a pass over the Lepontine Alps in SE Switzerland. Highest point: 2062 m (6766 ft)
- sb's spiritual home — your spiritual home is the place where you feel that you belong, usually because your ideas or attitudes are the same as those of the people who live there
- seat belt tensioner — A seat belt tensioner is a device in a vehicle that pulls a seat belt tight if there is a sudden movement or stop.
- self-responsibility — the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management.
- seminiferous tubule — any of the coiled tubules of the testis in which spermatozoa are produced.
- short-tail business — Short-tail business is insurance business where it is known that claims will be made and settled quickly.
- shortness of breath — respiratory difficulty
- siberian forest cat — a breed of powerfully-built long-haired cat, typically tabby with a white ruff and white paws
- siberian wallflower — a North American plant, Erysimum asperum, of the mustard family, having orange-yellow flowers.
- simple carbohydrate — a carbohydrate, as glucose, that consists of a single monosaccharide unit.
- southern crab apple — a tree, Malus angustifolia, of the eastern U.S., having oblong leaves, fragrant, pink or rose-colored flowers, and small, round, yellow-green fruit.
- stabilization print — a print made by the stabilization process.
- standing broad jump — a jump for distance from a standing position.
- stanford-binet test — a revised version of the Binet-Simon scale, prepared at Stanford University for use in the U.S.
- stationery cupboard — a cupboard where things like paper, pens and paper clips are kept
- stochastic variable — a random variable.
- store refurbishment — Store refurbishment happens when a store needs to be redecorated, modernized or the layout changed. The store will often be closed to customers during this time.
- strait of gibraltar — a narrow strait between the S tip of Spain and the NW tip of Africa, linking the Mediterranean with the Atlantic
- substitution cipher — a cipher that replaces letters of the plain text with another set of letters or symbols.
- subtractive process — a process of color photography in which the colors are formed by combination of cyan, yellow, and magenta lights.
- synchromesh gearbox — A synchromesh gearbox is a usually manually operated transmission in which a change of gears takes place between gears that are already revolving at the same speed.
- take care of sth/sb — If you take care of someone or something, you look after them and prevent them from being harmed or damaged.