16-letter words containing p, a, r, i
- thermoacidophile — any organism, especially a type of archaebacterium, that thrives in strongly acidic environments at high temperatures.
- thermoplasticity — soft and pliable when heated, as some plastics, without any change of the inherent properties.
- thinking pattern — manner of thinking
- three-point play — a play in which a player sinks the free throw that was awarded when the player was fouled while scoring a basket.
- thrombocytopenia — an abnormal decrease in the number of blood platelets.
- tiger kidnapping — a kidnapping in which one or more hostages are taken to coerce another person, usually a relation of the person or people held, to take part in a crime
- tightrope walker — performer who walks on high wire
- to coin a phrase — You say 'to coin a phrase' to show that you realize you are making a pun or using a cliché.
- to play for time — If you play for time, you try to make something happen more slowly, because you do not want it to happen or because you need time to think about what to do if it happens.
- to rest in peace — If you express the wish that a dead person may rest in peace, you are showing respect and sympathy for him or her. 'Rest in peace' or 'RIP' is also sometimes written on gravestones.
- topsail schooner — a sailing vessel fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts with square sails above the foresail, and often with a square sail before the foresail.
- transalpine gaul — an ancient region in W Europe, including the modern areas of N Italy, France, Belgium, and the S Netherlands: consisted of two main divisions, one part S of the Alps (Cisalpine Gaul) and another part N of the Alps (Transalpine Gaul)
- transfer pricing — the setting of a price for the transfer of raw materials, components, products, or services between the trading units of a large organization
- transition point — Physics. a temperature at which a substance undergoes some abrupt change in its properties, as when it passes from the normal to the superconducting state.
- transpeptidation — the process of transferring an amino acid or group of amino acids from one compound to another.
- transport police — the national police force for railways in Britain, which protects rail operators, staff and passengers
- trap-door spider — any of several burrowing spiders, of the family Ctenizidae, that construct a tubular nest with a hinged lid.
- trapezoidal rule — a numerical method for evaluating the area between a curve and an axis by approximating the area with the areas of trapezoids.
- trial separation — an experimental period of living apart
- trick photograph — a photograph that creates an illusion
- tridarn cupboard — a Welsh cupboard of the late 17th and 18th centuries, with an open, canopied upper section for display.
- triphenylmethane — a colorless, crystalline, solid compound containing three benzene rings, C 19 H 16 , from which many dyes are derived.
- triple-expansion — noting a power source, especially a steam engine, using the same fluid at three successive stages of expansion to do work in three or more cylinders.
- tropic of cancer — Geography. either of two corresponding parallels of latitude on the terrestrial globe, one (tropic of Cancer) about 23½° N, and the other (tropic of Capricorn) about 23½° S of the equator, being the boundaries of the Torrid Zone. the tropics, the regions lying between and near these parallels of latitude; the Torrid Zone and neighboring regions.
- tropical cyclone — a cyclone that originates over a tropical ocean area and can develop into the destructive storm known in the U.S. as a hurricane, in the western Pacific region as a typhoon, and elsewhere by other names. Compare extratropical cyclone, hurricane (def 1), willy-willy.
- trucking company — a company that transports goods by lorry
- ultracrepidarian — noting or pertaining to a person who criticizes, judges, or gives advice outside the area of his or her expertise: The play provides a classic, simplistic portrayal of an ultracrepidarian mother-in-law.
- ultramicroscopic — an instrument that uses scattering phenomena to detect the position of objects too small to be seen by an ordinary microscope.
- uncinate process — a curved, bony process on certain ribs of birds that projects backward and overlaps the succeeding rib, serving to strengthen the thorax.
- undercapitalized — having insufficient capital for the efficient operation of a commercial enterprise
- underpitch vault — a construction having a central vault intersected by vaults of lower pitch.
- unimpressionable — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- unimproved value — the valuation of land for rating purposes, disregarding the value of buildings or other development
- unparticularized — to make particular.
- unpredictability — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- unproportionally — having due proportion; corresponding.
- unrepresentative — a person or thing that represents another or others.
- up with the lark — up early in the morning
- upland sandpiper — a large, field-inhabiting sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda, of eastern North America, resembling a plover: now protected and increasing in numbers.
- upper palatinate — See under Palatinate (def 1).
- upsilon particle — the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet (Υ, υ).
- vapor channeling — Vapor channeling exists when vapor flow is distributed in an unequal way in a distillation vessel or stage.
- vapor combustion — Vapor combustion is a closed burn system used for treating liquid waste which contains volatile organic compounds.
- ventriculography — radiography of the ventricles of the heart after injection of a contrast medium
- videodisc player — an electronic device for playing videodiscs through a television set.
- virginia cowslip — a perennial woodland plant (Mertensia virginica) of the borage family, native to E North America and having clusters of blue or purple, bell-shaped flowers
- virginia creeper — a climbing plant, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, of the grape family, native to North America, having palmate leaves, usually with five leaflets, and bluish-black berries.
- virtual particle — an elementary particle of transitory existence that does not appear as a free particle in a particular situation but that can transmit a force from one particle to another.
- walk a tightrope — be in a precarious position
- washing-up water — water used for washing dishes