18-letter words containing p, a, i, l, o, m
- limestone pavement — a horizontal surface of exposed limestone in which the joints have been enlarged, cutting the surface into roughly rectangular blocks
- linear programming — any of several methods for finding where a given linear function of several nonnegative variables assumes an extreme value and for determining the extreme value, the variable usually being subjected to constraints in the form of linear equalities or inequalities.
- logarithmic spiral — log r = aθ
- logical complement — (logic) In Boolean algebra, the logical complement or negation of a Boolean value is the opposite value, given by the following truth table: A | -A --+--- T | F F | T -A is also written as A with a bar over it or with a small vertical line hanging from the right-hand end of the "-" (LaTeX \neg) or as A'. In the C programming language, it is !A and in digital circuit design, /A.
- logical positivism — a philosophical movement that stresses the function of philosophy as a method of criticizing and analyzing science and that rejects all transcendental metaphysics, statements of fact being held to be meaningful only if they have verifiable consequences in experience and in statements of logic, mathematics, or philosophy itself, and with such statements of fact deriving their validity from the rules of language.
- lone-parent family — a family in which there is only one parent
- magnetic potential — a scalar quantity, analogous to the electric potential, defined at each point in a given magnetic field to be equal to the work done in bringing a unit north pole from infinity to the point.
- marsilius of padua — c1280–1343? Italian scholar and political theorist.
- maternity hospital — birthing facility
- medical profession — the body of people who work as doctors of medicine
- mergui archipelago — a group of over 200 islands in the Andaman Sea, off the Tenasserim coast of S Myanmar: mountainous and forested
- mexican gold poppy — an annual wildflower, Eschscholzia mexicana, having orange-gold, cup-shaped flowers, found in dry, mountainous regions of western North America.
- microencapsulation — the process of enclosing chemical substances in microcapsules.
- micrometer caliper — calipers with a micrometer screw, for extremely accurate measurement
- micrometer-caliper — any of various devices for measuring minute distances, angles, etc., as in connection with a telescope or microscope.
- micropalaeontology — the branch of palaeontology concerned with the study of microscopic fossils
- middle paleolithic — See under Paleolithic.
- military policeman — A military policeman is a member of the military police.
- misplaced modifier — Grammar. a word, phrase, or clause that seems to refer to or modify an unintended word because of its placement in a sentence, as when young in When young, circuses appeal to all of us.
- mission specialist — the crew member of a space shuttle who is assigned primary responsibility for carrying out operations related to the payload of the shuttle.
- moccasin telegraph — the transmission of rumour or secret information; the grapevine
- mordovian republic — a constituent republic of W central Russia, in the middle Volga basin. Capital: Saransk. Pop: 888 700 (2002). Area: 26 200 sq km (10 110 sq miles)
- morning-after pill — a contraceptive pill containing only an estrogen and used by women within a few hours after sexual intercourse.
- mucopolysaccharide — (formerly) glycosaminoglycan.
- myeloproliferative — (medicine) of or pertaining to the presence of an abnormal proliferation of myelopoietic cells (from bone marrow).
- nonpharmacological — Not pharmacological.
- nonpreferentialism — of, relating to, or of the nature of preference: preferential policies.
- normally aspirated — A normally aspirated or naturally aspirated engine breathes air at atmospheric pressure.
- on automatic pilot — If you are on automatic pilot or on autopilot, you are acting without thinking about what you are doing, usually because you have done it many times before.
- ophthalmologically — In an ophthalmological manner.
- optical microscope — traditional magnifying instrument
- optimum population — a population that is sufficiently large to provide an adequate workforce with minimal unemployment
- paleoclimatologist — the branch of paleogeography dealing with the study of paleoclimates.
- palmer archipelago — a group of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, off the NW coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
- parallactic motion — the apparent motion of stars due to the earth's orbital motion.
- parallel computing — parallel processing
- parallel importing — the importing of certain goods, esp pharmaceutical drugs, by dealers who undersell local manufacturers
- passing modulation — a modulation of a temporary nature.
- pathologic anatomy — the branch of pathology dealing with the morphologic changes in tissues.
- personal exemption — Your personal exemption is the amount of money that is deducted from your gross income before you have to start paying income tax.
- phantasmagorically — having a fantastic or deceptive appearance, as something in a dream or created by the imagination.
- phantom withdrawal — the unauthorized removal of funds from a bank account using an automated teller machine
- philharmonic pitch — a standard of pitch in which A above middle C is established at 440 vibrations per second.
- photochemical smog — air pollution containing ozone and other reactive chemical compounds formed by the action of sunlight on nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, especially those in automobile exhaust.
- phytohemagglutinin — a lectin, obtained from the red kidney bean, that binds to the membranes of T cells and stimulates metabolic activity, cell division, etc.
- plane trigonometry — the branch of trigonometry dealing with plane triangles.
- plenum ventilation — a system of mechanical ventilation in which fresh air is forced into the spaces to be ventilated from a chamber (plenum chamber) at a pressure slightly higher than atmospheric pressure, so as to expel foul air.
- policeman's helmet — a Himalayan balsaminaceous plant, Impatiens glandulifera, with large purplish-pink flowers, introduced into Britain
- politically-minded — (of a person or group of people) interested in the way power is achieved and used in a country or society (through government, policy-making, etc)
- polychromatophilic — having an affinity for more than one kind of stain, especially for acid, neutral, and basic stains, as polychromatophilic erythroblasts characteristic of pernicious anemia.