12-letter words containing o, s, t, e, p, r
- peritrichous — (of bacteria) having a uniform distribution of flagella over the body surface.
- perquisition — an intensive and meticulous examination, pursuit, or hunt for something
- perseverator — a person who perseverates
- persian knot — a hand-tied knot, used in rug weaving, in which the ends of yarn looped around a warp thread appear at each of the interstices between adjacent threads and produce a compact and relatively even pile effect.
- perspiration — a salty, watery fluid secreted by the sweat glands of the skin, especially when very warm as a result of strenuous exertion; sweat.
- perspiratory — of, relating to, or stimulating perspiration.
- pertinacious — holding tenaciously to a purpose, course of action, or opinion; resolute.
- pest control — rats, insects: extermination
- pester power — the ability possessed by a child to nag a parent relentlessly until the parent succumbs and agrees to the child's request
- pet passport — a document that officially records information related to a specific animal, as part of a scheme that allows animals to travel between member countries without undergoing quarantine
- petaliferous — bearing or having petals.
- petrobrusian — a member of a 12th-century sect in S France that rejected the Mass, infant baptism, prayers for the dead, sacerdotalism, the veneration of the cross, and the building of churches.
- petrochemist — someone who studies petrochemistry or works in the petrochemical industry
- petrodollars — Petrodollars are a unit of money used to calculate how much a country has earned by exporting petroleum or natural gas.
- petrogenesis — the branch of petrology dealing with the origin and formation of rocks.
- petrophysics — the analysis of the constitution and characteristics of rocks
- petrozavodsk — a city in NW Russia, capital of the Karelian Autonomous Republic, on Lake Onega: developed around ironworks established by Peter the Great in 1703; university (1940). Pop: 265 000 (2005 est)
- phenocrystic — relating to a phenocryst
- phosphoreted — phosphureted.
- phosphureted — combined with phosphorus, especially in its lowest valence state.
- photo spread — a picture spread. See under spread (def 33).
- photorealism — a style of painting flourishing in the 1970s, especially in the U.S., England, and France, and depicting commonplace scenes or ordinary people, with a meticulously detailed realism, flat images, and barely discernible brushwork that suggests and often is based on or incorporates an actual photograph.
- phrenologist — a psychological theory or analytical method based on the belief that certain mental faculties and character traits are indicated by the configurations of the skull.
- phrontistery — a place or establishment for thinking, studying, or learning
- picture show — motion picture.
- pirate coast — an independent federation in E Arabia, formed in 1971, now comprising seven emirates on the S coast (formerly, Pirate Coast or Trucial Coast) of the Persian Gulf, formerly under British protection: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah (joined 1972), and Fujairah. About 32,300 sq. mi. (83,657 sq. km). Capital: Abu Dhabi. Abbreviation: U.A.E.
- plasterboard — a material used for insulating or covering walls, or as a lath, consisting of paper-covered sheets of gypsum and felt.
- plecopterous — relating to the order Plecoptera or stoneflies
- pleiotropism — the condition of a gene affecting more than one characteristic of the phenotype
- poetastering — the profession of being a poetaster
- point source — a source of radiation sufficiently distant compared to its length and width that it can be considered as a point.
- point spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- point-spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- poliorcetics — the science of siegecraft
- politicaster — an ill-suited or disliked politician
- polycentrism — the doctrine that a plurality of independent centers of leadership, power, or ideology may exist within a single political system, especially Communism.
- polyneuritis — inflammation of several nerves at the same time; multiple neuritis.
- polyoestrous — polyestrous.
- poodle skirt — 1950s-style woman's circular skirt
- port angeles — a city in NW Washington, on the Juan de Fuca Strait.
- port chester — a city in SE New York, on Long Island Sound.
- port de bras — (used with a singular verb) the technique of moving the arms properly.
- port moresby — an independent republic in the W Pacific Ocean, comprising the E part of New Guinea and numerous near-lying islands, including the Bismarck Archipelago, the Admiralty Islands, the Trobriand Islands, and Bougainville and Buka in the Solomon Islands: a former Australian Trusteeship Territory; independent since 1975; member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 178,260 sq. mi. (461,693 sq. km). Capital: Port Moresby.
- portentously — of the nature of a portent; momentous.
- post-harvest — Also, harvesting. the gathering of crops.
- post-nuclear — pertaining to or involving atomic weapons: nuclear war.
- post-puberty — the period or age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction of offspring: in common law, presumed to be 14 years in the male and 12 years in the female.
- postal meter — a postal franking machine
- postal order — money order.
- postcardlike — (of a scene) resembling a postcard