18-letter words containing o, t, h, e, r
- random walk theory — the theory that the future movement of share prices does not reflect past movements and therefore will not follow a discernible pattern
- reach for the moon — to desire or attempt something unattainable or difficult to obtain
- recharacterization — portrayal; description: the actor's characterization of a politician.
- residential school — (in Canada) a boarding school maintained by the Canadian government for Indian and Inuit children from sparsely populated settlements
- return to the fold — come back home
- reverse angle shot — Movies. reverse shot.
- rhode island white — one of a dual-purpose American breed of chickens having white feathers and a rose comb.
- roman architecture — buildings in style of ancient Rome
- root canal therapy — endodontics.
- rooted to the spot — If you are rooted to the spot, you are unable to move because you are very frightened or shocked.
- rotary clothesline — an apparatus of radiating spokes that support lines on which clothes are hung to dry
- rotten to the core — person: wicked
- rub shoulders with — to mix with socially or associate with
- rubbish collection — the collection of domestic refuse for disposal
- runge-kutta method — a numerical method, involving successive approximations, used to solve differential equations.
- saint john's bread — carob (def 2).
- school certificate — (in England and Wales between 1917 and 1951 and currently in New Zealand) a certificate awarded to school pupils who pass a public examination: the equivalent of GCSE
- scottish deerhound — one of a Scottish breed of large, tall hunting dogs having a medium-length, wiry, gray or reddish-fawn coat, originally developed for hunting and bringing down deer, and known as the royal dog of Scotland.
- scottish secretary — the Secretary of State for Scotland, head of the Scotland Office, a UK government department with responsibility for some Scottish affairs
- scratch one's head — If you say that someone is scratching their head, you mean that they are thinking hard and trying to solve a problem or puzzle.
- scruff of the neck — If someone takes you by the scruff of the neck, they take hold of the back of your neck or collar suddenly and roughly.
- search-and-destroy — designed to find and destroy by bombing etc
- sell oneself short — If you sell someone short, you do not point out their good qualities as much as you should or do as much for them as you should.
- september holidays — a period of time in September when people do not have to go to school, college or work
- septic sore throat — an acute, toxic, streptococcus infection of the throat producing fever, tonsillitis, and other serious effects.
- set one's heart on — Anatomy. a hollow, pumplike organ of blood circulation, composed mainly of rhythmically contractile smooth muscle, located in the chest between the lungs and slightly to the left and consisting of four chambers: a right atrium that receives blood returning from the body via the superior and inferior vena cavae, a right ventricle that pumps the blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs for oxygenation, a left atrium that receives the oxygenated blood via the pulmonary veins and passes it through the mitral valve, and a left ventricle that pumps the oxygenated blood, via the aorta, throughout the body.
- shatterproof glass — glass designed to resist shattering
- sheltered workshop — a place of employment for persons with disabilities where their rights are protected and their needs are met.
- shift one's ground — to change one's argument or defense
- shipping container — a large, strong container, usually of metal, used to store goods in during shipment
- shoot from the hip — the act of shooting with a bow, firearm, etc.
- short story writer — author of short fiction
- short-tailed shrew — a grayish-black shrew, Blarina brevicauda, common in eastern North America, that has a tail less than half the length of the body.
- shorthand notebook — a notebook used by a shorthand writer
- shotgun microphone — a directional microphone with a narrow-angle range of sensitivity.
- shugart associates — (company) The disk drive company, founded by Alan F. Shugart, which developed SCSI. Alan left Shugart Associates in 1974 [did he quit or was he fired?]. Shugart Associates was bought, and eventually shut down by Xerox.
- shugart technology — Seagate Technology
- shunting operation — an operation in which rail coaches are manoeuvred
- sindbad the sailor — (in The Arabian Nights' Entertainments), a wealthy citizen of Baghdad who relates the adventures of his seven wonderful voyages.
- sixth-form college — (in England and Wales) a college offering A-level and other courses to pupils over sixteen from local schools, esp from those that do not have sixth forms
- sling psychrometer — a psychrometer so designed that the wet-bulb thermometer can be ventilated, to expedite evaporation, by whirling in the air.
- smooth fox terrier — a breed of short-haired fox terrier with a mostly white, smooth coat.
- so much the better — You can say 'so much the better' or 'all the better' to indicate that it is desirable that a particular thing is used, done, or available.
- something or other — sth not remembered precisely
- something to spare — a surplus of something
- sonic depth finder — a sonar instrument that uses echolocation to measure depths under water.
- sound and the fury — a novel (1929) by William Faulkner.
- sound spectrograph — an electronic device for recording a sound spectogram.
- southern cameroons — German Kamerun. a region in W Africa: a German protectorate 1884–1919; divided in 1919 into British and French mandates.
- southern rhodesian — a former name (until 1964) of Zimbabwe (def 1).