16-letter words containing o, u, p
- obstreperousness — resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly.
- occupation layer — (on an archaeological site) a layer of remains left by a single culture, from which the culture can be dated or identified.
- october surprise — a major event, occurring shortly before a presidential election, which influences the result
- on the up and up — to, toward, or in a more elevated position: to climb up to the top of a ladder.
- on the up-and-up — to, toward, or in a more elevated position: to climb up to the top of a ladder.
- on your doorstep — If a place is on your doorstep, it is very near to where you live. If something happens on your doorstep, it happens very close to where you live.
- onboard computer — onboard a vehicle, ship, plane, train or spacecraft
- once upon a time — at one time in the past; formerly: I was a farmer once; a once powerful nation.
- one's cup of tea — the dried and prepared leaves of a shrub, Camellia sinensis, from which a somewhat bitter, aromatic beverage is prepared by infusion in hot water.
- opaque projector — a machine for projecting opaque objects, as books, on a screen, by means of reflected light.
- open punctuation — punctuation characterized by sparing use of stops, esp of the comma
- operating budget — money allocated to a project
- operating manual — a leaflet of instructions on how to use something (such as an electrical appliance, etc)
- opportunity cost — the money or other benefits lost when pursuing a particular course of action instead of a mutually-exclusive alternative: The company cannot afford the opportunity cost attached to policy decisions made by the current CEO.
- opportunity shop — a shop selling second-hand goods for charitable funds
- optical computer — an experimental computer that uses photons rather than electrical impulses to process data a thousand times faster than with conventional integrated circuits.
- optical illusion — something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.
- organophosphorus — Denoting synthetic organic compounds containing phosphorus, especially pesticides and nerve gases of this kind.
- orographic cloud — any cloud whose existence and form are largely controlled by the disturbed flow of air over and around mountains, as the banner cloud and crest cloud.
- osculating plane — the plane containing the circle of curvature of a point on a given curve.
- osmotic pressure — the force that a dissolved substance exerts on a semipermeable membrane, through which it cannot penetrate, when separated by it from pure solvent.
- outboard profile — an exterior side elevation of a vessel, showing all deck structures, rigging, fittings, etc.
- over-consumption — the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.
- over-speculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- oversubscription — to subscribe for more of than is available, expected, or required: The charity drive was oversubscribed by several thousand dollars.
- oxonium compound — a salt formed by the reaction of an acid with an organic compound containing a basic oxygen atom.
- pacific sturgeon — a dark gray sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, inhabiting marine and fresh waters along the northwestern coast of North America, valued as a food and sport fish.
- padded shoulders — (on a garment) shoulders lined, stuffed, or filled out with soft material, esp in order to give them a higher or wider shape
- pairs tournament — an event in a sport such as tennis or darts open to pairs of competitors
- palmtop computer — a computer that has a small screen and compressed keyboard and is small enough to be held in the hand, often used as a personal organizer
- palomar mountain — mountain in SW Calif., near San Diego: site of an astronomical observatory: 6,140 ft (1,871 m)
- panel discussion — a formal discussion before an audience for which the topic, speakers, etc., have been selected in advance.
- parasol mushroom — a common edible field mushroom, Macrolepiota (Lepiota) procera, having a light-brown, scaly cap.
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- parkerhouse roll — a yeast roll shaped by folding over a flat, round piece of buttered dough
- part way through — mid-way; before the end
- partial function — A function which is not defined for all arguments of its input type. E.g. f(x) = 1/x if x /= 0. The opposite of a total function. In denotational semantics, a partial function f : D -> C may be represented as a total function ft : D' -> lift(C) where D' is a superset of D and ft x = f x if x in D ft x = bottom otherwise where lift(C) = C U bottom. Bottom (LaTeX \perp) denotes "undefined".
- paterson's curse — a purple-flowered noxious plant, Echium plantagineum, a close relative of viper's bugloss, naturalized in Australia and NZ where its harmfulness to livestock has prompted attempts to limit its spread
- paulinus of nola — Saint. ?353–431 ad, Roman consul and Christian poet; bishop of Nola (409–431). Feast day: June 22
- pay-as-you-throw — denoting a system for waste collection in which households are charged according to the amount of refuse they leave
- pentothal sodium — thiopental sodium
- people smuggling — People smuggling or people trafficking is the practice of bringing immigrants into a country illegally.
- people's commune — a usually rural, Communist Chinese social and administrative unit of from 2000 to 4000 families combined for collective farming, fishing, mining, or industrial projects.
- percussion drill — a drill that is operated by percussion
- perforated ulcer — an ulcer that bursts through the stomach wall and leaks food and gastric juices into the abdominal cavity
- period furniture — furniture that was made during a particular period in time
- perpetual motion — the motion of a theoretical mechanism that, without any losses due to friction or other forms of dissipation of energy, would continue to operate indefinitely at the same rate without any external energy being applied to it.
- person of colour — a person who is not White
- personal pronoun — any one of the pronouns used to refer to the speaker, or to one or more to or about whom or which he or she is speaking, as, in English, I, we, you, he, she, it, they.
- personal tuition — private tuition