12-letter words containing p, a, s, y
- pastry board — a flat board on which pastry is rolled
- pastry brush — a small, flat brush for coating pastry with butter, egg, etc.
- pastry cream — a creamy custard, often flavoured, used as a filling for éclairs, flans, etc
- pay increase — a rise in pay or salary
- paying guest — lodger
- pearl oyster — any of several marine bivalve mollusks of the family Pteriidae, some of which form pearls of great value, inhabiting waters of eastern Asia and off the coasts of Panama and Baja California.
- pearly gates — the entrance to heaven.
- penalty shot — a free shot at the goal defended only by the goalkeeper, awarded to an offensive player for certain defensive violations.
- penalty spot — a point within the penalty area and 12 yards (about 11 m) from the goal, from which a penalty kick may be taken
- pennsylvania — a state in the E United States. 45,333 sq. mi. (117,410 sq. km). Capital: Harrisburg. Abbreviation: PA (for use with zip code), Pa., Penn., Penna.
- penny shares — Penny shares are shares that are offered for sale at a low price.
- pepper spray — an aerosol spray that temporarily irritates the eyes and mucous membranes, used to stun and incapacitate a person or animal: police use of pepper spray to control rioters.
- pepys' diary — a diary kept by Samuel Pepys from January 1, 1660 to May 31, 1669, in which are recorded his impressions of contemporary London life, the life of the court, and the administration of the navy.
- perspicacity — keenness of mental perception and understanding; discernment; penetration.
- perspiratory — of, relating to, or stimulating perspiration.
- persuasively — able, fitted, or intended to persuade: a very persuasive argument.
- phagocytoses — phagocytize.
- phagocytosis — Physiology. the ingestion of a smaller cell or cell fragment, a microorganism, or foreign particles by means of the local infolding of a cell's membrane and the protrusion of its cytoplasm around the fold until the material has been surrounded and engulfed by closure of the membrane and formation of a vacuole: characteristic of amebas and some types of white blood cells.
- phased array — a radar antenna consisting of an array of dipoles that are excited in or out of phase with each other to control beam direction and radiation pattern without moving the antenna. Compare dipole (def 3).
- phosphatidyl — an atom or group of atoms containing one or more unpaired electrons derived from a phosphatide
- photoanalyst — a person who analyzes and interprets photographs, especially a military specialist in aerial or satellite photography.
- phylacteries — Judaism. either of two small, black, leather cubes containing a piece of parchment inscribed with verses 4–9 of Deut. 6, 13–21 of Deut. 11, and 1–16 of Ex. 13: one is attached with straps to the left arm and the other to the forehead during weekday morning prayers by Orthodox and Conservative Jewish men.
- physicalness — of or relating to the body: physical exercise.
- physiography — the science of physical geography.
- physogastric — pertaining to the swollen, membranous abdomen of certain insects, especially termite and ant queens.
- phytophagous — herbivorous.
- plain as day — obvious
- plastocyanin — a blue protein found in green plants and in some bacteria
- plausibility — having an appearance of truth or reason; seemingly worthy of approval or acceptance; credible; believable: a plausible excuse; a plausible plot.
- play clothes — clothes that are suitable for playing in
- play it safe — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- pneumatocyst — the cavity of a pneumatophore.
- policymakers — a person responsible for making policy, especially in government.
- pollyannaish — an excessively or blindly optimistic person.
- pollyannaism — an excessively or blindly optimistic person.
- polychaetous — of or relating to the genus Polychaeta
- polygamistic — a person who practices or favors polygamy.
- polygraphist — an instrument for receiving and recording simultaneously tracings of variations in certain body activities.
- polyomavirus — any of a genus (Polyomavirus) of papovaviruses that naturally infect wild and laboratory mice, and that cause tumors when injected into newborn mice
- polypetalous — having a corolla of separate petals.
- polysaprobic — flourishing in a body of water having a heavy load of decomposed organic matter and almost no free oxygen
- polysepalous — having a calyx of separate or unconnected sepals.
- polysiloxane — a polymer composed of silicon and oxygen atoms
- polysyllabic — consisting of several, especially four or more, syllables, as a word.
- polysyllable — a polysyllabic word.
- polysynaptic — having or involving more than one synapse.
- positionally — in terms of position, from a positional point of view
- post-primary — first or highest in rank or importance; chief; principal: his primary goals in life.
- postcoronary — of, relating to, or occurring after a heart attack
- postliminary — of or relating to postliminy