21-letter words containing o, s, i
- stabilization-process — the act or process of stabilizing or the state of being stabilized.
- staffordshire terrier — former name of American Staffordshire terrier.
- stare one in the face — to be glaringly obvious or imminent
- stations of the cross — a series of 14 crosses, often accompanied by 14 pictures or carvings, arranged in order around the walls of a church, to commemorate 14 supposed stages in Christ's journey to Calvary
- statutory corporation — a company or other body set up by statute
- statutory declaration — a declaration made under statutory authority before a justice of the peace or commissioner for oaths which may in certain cases be substituted for a statement on oath
- stick in one's throat — to be difficult, or against one's conscience, for one to accept, utter, or believe
- stock list department — (in an American stock exchange) the department dealing with monitoring compliance with its listing requirements and rules
- stop loss reinsurance — Stop loss reinsurance is a form of reinsurance under which the reinsurer pays the cedant's losses in any year over a particular percentage of the earned premium.
- strachey, christopher — Christopher Strachey
- strategic air command — a U.S. Air Force command charged with intercontinental air strikes, especially nuclear attacks.
- strike the right note — to behave appropriately
- student participation — the extent to which students participate or involve themselves in a class, course, etc
- subjective complement — subject complement.
- subliminal perception — perception of or reaction to a stimulus that occurs without awareness or consciousness
- subsistence allowance — money given in advance to a new soldier, employee, etc., to buy food, clothing, and pay for other necessities while awaiting a first pay.
- substitution instance — an expression so derived from another
- substitution reaction — the replacement of an atom or group of atoms in a compound by another atom or group.
- suction and curettage — a technique involving extraction of the fetus through a suction tube, used to perform abortions during the early stages of pregnancy.
- summary court-martial — a court-martial composed of one commissioned officer, authorized to try minor offenses against military law.
- sun protection factor — SPF.
- supergranulation cell — one of a number of large convection cells in the photosphere and chromosphere of the sun, each having a diameter of 10,000–20,000 miles (16,000–32,000 km) and lasting longer than a day.
- supply-side economics — a school of economic thought that emphasizes the importance to a strong economy of policies that remove impediments to supply
- surface acoustic wave — an acoustic wave generated on the surface of a piezoelectric substrate: used as a filter in electronic circuits
- surface friction drag — the part of the drag on a body moving through a fluid that is dependent on the nature of the surface of the body
- surface of projection — the surface upon which an image or a set of points is projected.
- surface of revolution — a surface formed by revolving a plane curve about a given line.
- sweet spirit of nitre — ethyl nitrite spirit.
- sympathetic vibration — a vibration induced by resonance.
- symphonie fantastique — a programmatic symphony (1830–31) in five movements by Hector Berlioz.
- synchronized shifting — gear shifting in which the gears to be meshed are made to rotate at the same speed.
- synchronized swimming — a sport growing out of water ballet in which swimmers, in solo, duet, and team efforts, complete various required figures by performing motions in relatively stationary positions, along with a freestyle competition, with the contestants synchronizing movements to music and being judged for body position, control, and the degree of difficulty of the moves.
- synchrotron radiation — electromagnetic radiation emitted by charged particles as they pass through magnetic fields.
- systeme international — Système International d'Unités
- take one's (own) life — to commit suicide
- take one's finger out — stop delaying or procrastinating
- take sb at their word — If you take someone at their word, you believe what they say, when they did not really mean it or when they meant something slightly different.
- take sb/sth seriously — If you take someone or something seriously, you believe that they are important and deserve attention.
- take someone prisoner — to capture and hold someone as a prisoner, esp as a prisoner of war
- tape operating system — (operating system) (TOS) An IBM operating system for System 360, used in the early days around 1965 to support the IBM 360 model 30 et al. TOS was a predecessor to IBM's Disk Operating System. TOS died out really early as disks such as the 2311 and 2314 became common with the IBM 360 whereas thet had been a real luxury on the IBM 7090.
- tartarian honeysuckle — an Asian honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica, having fragrant, white to pink flowers.
- television evangelist — a Christian minister who devotes time to preaching on television
- temperature inversion — inversion (def 12).
- tenure track position — a position or office that carries with it the opportunity to eventually obtain tenure or the right to permanent employment
- terrestrial radiation — long-wave electromagnetic radiation in the form of heat emitted from the earth's surface and atmosphere.
- terrestrial telescope — a refracting telescope having inverting lenses or an eyepiece that presents an erect image.
- tetrabromofluorescein — eosin (def 1).
- the acting profession — actors considered as a group
- the antipodes islands — a group of small uninhabited islands in the South Pacific, southeast of and belonging to New Zealand. Area: 62 sq km (24 sq miles)
- the barber of seville — Italian Il barbiere di Siviglia. a comic opera (1816) by Gioacchino Rossini based on a comedy (1775) by Beaumarchais.