19-letter words containing p, a, b, s
- look sb up and down — If someone looks you up and down, they direct their eyes from your head to your feet, in a rude and superior way and often as though they disapprove of you.
- megabits per second — (unit) (Mbps, Mb/s) Millions of bits per second. A unit of data rate. 1 Mb/s = 1,000,000 bits per second (not 1,048,576). E.g. Ethernet can carry 10 Mbps.
- 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)
- palaeoethnobotanist — someone who studies fossil seeds and grains to further archaeological knowledge, esp of the domestication of cereals
- 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.
- paschen-back effect — a splitting of spectral lines observed when the source of a radiation is subjected to a strong magnetic field, caused when the vectors associated with the spin and orbital angular momentum exhibit individual rather than common precession.
- personal belongings — possessions; things that belong to someone
- piggyback investing — Piggyback investing is a situation in which a broker repeats a trade on his own behalf immediately after trading for an investor, because he thinks the investor may have inside information.
- pointe-aux-trembles — a city in S Quebec, in E Canada, N of Montreal, on the St. Lawrence.
- postal savings bank — any of the savings banks formerly operated by local post offices and limited to small accounts.
- potassium bisulfate — a colorless, crystalline, water-soluble solid, KHSO 4 , used chiefly in the conversion of tartrates to bitartrates.
- 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.
- public-interest law — a branch of law that often utilizes class-action suits to protect the interest of a large group or of the public at large, as in matters relating to racial discrimination, air pollution, etc.
- put one's back into — to devote all one's strength to (a task)
- refreshable display — braille display
- 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
- siberian crab apple — a hardy, round-headed tree, Malus baccata, of northern Asia, having white flowers and yellow or red fruit.
- 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.
- spaghetti bolognese — Italian dish of pasta and tomato sauce
- specialized subject — a school or university subject that concentrates on a particular field of knowledge
- spin quantum number — the quantum number that designates the total angular momentum associated with electron spin and has a value of ½ in units of h /2π.
- stabilization print — a print made by the stabilization process.
- standing broad jump — a jump for distance from a standing position.
- stationery cupboard — a cupboard where things like paper, pens and paper clips are kept
- subnuclear particle — any of the elementary particles, including those that do not exist in stable matter but appear as a result of high-energy collisions of other particles or nuclei.
- subtractive process — a process of color photography in which the colors are formed by combination of cyan, yellow, and magenta lights.
- tarnished plant bug — a bug, Lygus lineolaris, of the family Miridae, that is a common and widely distributed pest of alfalfa and other legumes and of peach and other fruit trees.
- telescopic umbrella — an umbrella having parts that telescope
- the compassion club — (in Canada) a nonprofit organization that provides uncontaminated cannabis for medical purposes and natural therapies in a safe environment
- to be a showstopper — to be very impressive; to be sensational
- to blow a raspberry — If you blow a raspberry, you make a sound by putting your tongue out and blowing, in order to insult someone.
- to give sb a leg up — to help with climbing
- toshiba corporation — (company) A Japanese technology manufacturer with 364 subsidiaries worldwide. Toshiba makes and sells electronics for home, office, industry and health care including information and communication systems, electronic components, heavy electrical apparatus, consumer products and medical diagnostic imaging equipment. In FY 2003-4, Toshiba employed 161,286 people.
- total probable loss — A total probable loss is the highest degree of loss or damage that is probable if an insured event occurs.
- united presbyterian — a member of the United Presbyterian Church of North America, founded in Pittsburgh in 1858 by a union of two Presbyterian groups.
- upper carboniferous — Pennsylvanian (defs 2, 4).
- visual basic script — (language) (VBScript) Microsoft's scripting language which is an extension of their Visual Basic language. VBScript can be used with Microsoft Office applications and others. It can also be embedded in web pages but can only be understood by Internet Explorer. Visual Basic is a BASIC variant with object-oriented features. Objects include applications, windows and selections.