18-letter words containing p, a, l, e, t, h
- phytohemagglutinin — a lectin, obtained from the red kidney bean, that binds to the membranes of T cells and stimulates metabolic activity, cell division, etc.
- planned parenthood — an organization that gives out information on the planning of the number and spacing of the births of one's children, as through the use of birth-control measures
- play the race card — to introduce the subject of race into a public discussion, esp to gain a strategic advantage
- plumber's merchant — a shop or business that sells things needed for the job of installing and repairing pipes, fixtures, etc, for water, drainage, and gas
- policeman's helmet — a Himalayan balsaminaceous plant, Impatiens glandulifera, with large purplish-pink flowers, introduced into Britain
- positively charged — having a positive charge
- potassium chlorate — a white or colorless, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous solid, KClO 3 , used chiefly as an oxidizing agent in the manufacture of explosives, fireworks, matches, bleaches, and disinfectants.
- potassium chloride — a white or colorless, crystalline, water-soluble solid, KCl, used chiefly in the manufacture of fertilizers and mineral water, and as a source of other potassium compounds.
- potassium sulphate — a soluble substance usually obtained as colourless crystals of the decahydrate: used in making glass and as a fertilizer. Formula: K2SO4
- preparatory school — a private or parochial secondary school, especially one boarding its students and providing a college-preparatory education.
- probability theory — the theory of analyzing and making statements concerning the probability of the occurrence of uncertain events. Compare probability (def 4).
- psychogalvanometer — a type of galvanometer for detecting and measuring psychogalvanic currents.
- pulp canal therapy — endodontics.
- put the clock back — to regress
- quasi-metaphysical — pertaining to or of the nature of metaphysics.
- repayment schedule — a document detailing the specific terms of a borrower's loan, such as monthly payment, interest rate, due dates etc
- root canal therapy — endodontics.
- segmental phonemes — phonemes consisting of sound segments; hence, the vowel, consonant, and semivowel sounds of a language
- september holidays — a period of time in September when people do not have to go to school, college or work
- shatterproof glass — glass designed to resist shattering
- shepherd satellite — a small moon orbiting near a planetary ring, whose gravitational pull helps confine the ring and the ring's extent.
- slow on the uptake — slow to understand or learn
- specialist teacher — a teacher with expertise in working with children with special educational needs, such as dyslexia
- spectroheliography — the process of obtaining an image of the sun in light of a particular wavelength, such as calcium or hydrogen, showing the distribution of the element over the surface and in the solar atmosphere, using a spectroheliograph
- spherical geometry — the branch of geometry that deals with figures on spherical surfaces.
- spherical triangle — a triangle formed by arcs of great circles of a sphere.
- spinal anaesthesia — anaesthesia of the lower half of the body produced by injecting an anaesthetic beneath the arachnoid membrane surrounding the spinal cord
- spotted flycatcher — a European woodland songbird, Muscicapa striata, with a greyish-brown streaked plumage: family Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers)
- talk between ships — TBS (def 1).
- telephone exchange — a telecommunications facility to which subscribers' telephones connect, that switches calls among subscribers or to other exchanges for further routing.
- the family compact — the ruling oligarchy in Upper Canada in the early 19th century
- the general public — the people in a society; people in general
- the lords temporal — (in Britain) peers other than bishops in their capacity as members of the House of Lords
- the middle passage — the journey across the Atlantic Ocean from the W coast of Africa to the Caribbean: the longest part of the journey of the slave ships sailing to the Caribbean or the Americas
- the palmetto state — a nickname for South Carolina
- the practicalities — the real facts or details of a situation, as opposed to its theoretical aspects
- the-cocktail-party — a play in verse (1950) by T. S. Eliot.
- to hold your peace — If you hold or keep your peace, you do not speak, even though there is something you want or ought to say.
- to learn the ropes — If you are learning the ropes, you are learning how a particular task or job is done.
- to lick into shape — If you lick, knock, or whip someone or something into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve them so that they are in the condition that you want them to be in.
- to spill the beans — If you spill the beans, you tell someone something that people have been trying to keep secret.
- to take the plunge — If you take the plunge, you decide to do something that you consider difficult or risky.
- up to the eyeballs — You use up to the eyeballs to emphasize that someone is in an undesirable state to a very great degree.
- upper klamath lake — See under Klamath Lakes.
- upper palaeolithic — the latest of the three periods of the Palaeolithic, beginning about 40 000 bc and ending, in Europe, about 12 000 bc: characterized by the emergence of modern man, Homo sapiens
- white-spotted hyla — a type of tree frog (H. leucophyllata) of tropical America