17-letter words containing p, a, c, e
- spaghettification — the theoretical stretching of an object as it encounters extreme differences in gravitational forces, especially those associated with a black hole.
- sparc xterminal 1 — (computer) Sun's lowest cost networked Unix desktop, it is board-upgradeable to a SPARC 4. It comes with a choice of frame buffers: 8-bit colour, Turbo GX, or Turbo GX plus. This product was expected to replace the SPARCclassic X. UK availability was planned for March 1995.
- spatial frequency — the measure of fine detail in an optical image in terms of cycles per millimetre
- speak one's piece — a separate or limited portion or quantity of something: a piece of land; a piece of chocolate.
- special committee — a committee, as of a legislative body, that is formed to examine and report on a specific bill or issue.
- special constable — a person recruited for temporary or occasional police duties, esp in time of emergency
- special education — education that is modified or particularized for those with singular needs, as disabled or maladjusted people, slow learners, or gifted children.
- special messenger — a postal worker who delivers mail by special delivery
- special privilege — exclusive advantage
- special schooling — the system of educating children with special needs in schools designed to meet their needs
- spectroheliograph — an apparatus for making photographs of the sun with a monochromatic light to show the details of the sun's surface and surroundings as they would appear if the sun emitted only that light.
- spectroradiometer — an instrument for determining the radiant-energy distribution in a spectrum, combining the functions of a spectroscope with those of a radiometer.
- spectroscopically — an optical device for producing and observing a spectrum of light or radiation from any source, consisting essentially of a slit through which the radiation passes, a collimating lens, and an Amici prism.
- spectrum analyser — an instrument that splits an input waveform into its frequency components, which are then displayed
- spectrum analysis — the determination of the constitution or condition of bodies and substances by means of the spectra they produce.
- spherical polygon — a closed figure formed by arcs of great circles on a spherical surface.
- spit in the ocean — a variety of poker in which four cards are dealt face down to each player and one card, forming the fifth for all hands, is dealt face up in the center of the table, the exposed card and others of its denomination being wild cards.
- spitting distance — a short space or distance
- spongy parenchyma — the lower layer of the ground tissue of a leaf, characteristically containing irregularly shaped cells with relatively few chloroplasts and large intercellular spaces.
- sports facilities — places and things for doing sports
- spot announcement — a brief radio or television announcement, usually an advertisement, made by an individual station during or after a network program.
- spring cankerworm — the striped, green caterpillar of any of several geometrid moths: a foliage pest of various fruit and shade trees, as Paleacrita vernata (spring cankerworm) and Alsophila pometaria (fall cankerworm)
- spruce gall aphid — any of various homopterous insects of the family Adelgidae, as Adelges abietis (spruce gall aphid) and Pineus pinifoliae (pine leaf aphid) that feed and form galls on conifers.
- stand-up comedian — performer: tells jokes
- steamship company — a company which has a fleet of steamships
- storm in a teacup — a violent fuss or disturbance over a trivial matter
- stray capacitance — undesired capacitance in equipment, occurring between the wiring, between the wiring and the chassis, or between components and the chassis
- subscription rate — the price charged for a subscription
- superaerodynamics — the branch of aerodynamics that deals with gases at very low densities.
- supercolumniation — the placing of one order of columns above another.
- support mechanism — any formal system or method of providing support or assistance
- supreme commander — the military officer commanding all allied forces in a theater of war.
- supreme sacrifice — the sacrifice of one's own life: Many made the supreme sacrifice during the war.
- sympathetic magic — magic predicated on the belief that one thing or event can affect another at a distance as a consequence of a sympathetic connection between them.
- tactile corpuscle — an oval sense organ made of flattened cells and encapsulated nerve endings, occurring in hairless skin, as the tips of the fingers and toes, and functioning as a touch receptor.
- take a chill pill — something that has a calming or relaxing effect.
- take exception to — object to sth
- take second place — If one thing takes second place to another, it is considered to be less important and is given less attention than the other thing.
- take the place of — replace, be a substitute for
- tax-bracket creep — bracket creep.
- teaching hospital — a hospital associated with a medical college and offering clinical and other facilities to those in various areas of medical study, as students, interns, and residents.
- teaching practice — Teaching practice is a period that a student teacher spends teaching at a school as part of his or her training.
- technical support — an advising and troubleshooting service provided by a manufacturer, typically a software or hardware developer, to its customers, often online or on the telephone.
- telescopic damper — a device with telescopic parts that reduce vibration in a motor vehicle
- temperature chart — a chart monitoring and recording somebody's body temperature, as of a patient at a hospital, etc
- temporary account — A temporary account is an account which is closed out at the end of the year.
- terephthalic acid — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble solid, C 8 H 6 O 2 , the para isomer of phthalic acid: used chiefly in the manufacture of resins and textile fibers.
- terminal capacity — The terminal capacity is the volume which can be stored in a terminal (= building or area with tanks).
- the electoral map — a map showing the distribution of constituencies over a country
- the glacial epoch — the Pleistocene Epoch