16-letter words containing p, a, t

to compare notes — If you compare notes with someone on a particular subject, you talk to them and find out whether their opinion, information, or experience is the same as yours.
to get bad press — If someone or something gets bad press, they are criticized, especially in the newspapers, on television, or on radio. If they get good press, they are praised.
to keep a secret — If you say that someone can keep a secret, you mean that they can be trusted not to tell other people a secret that you have told them.
to pass judgment — If you pass judgment on someone or something, you give your opinion about it, especially if you are making a criticism.
to pass the buck — If you pass the buck, you refuse to accept responsibility for something, and say that someone else is responsible.
to pass the time — If you do something to pass the time you do it because you have some time available and not because you really want to do it.
to pay dividends — If something pays dividends, it brings advantages at a later date.
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 play the fool — If you play the fool or act the fool, you behave in a playful, childish, and foolish way, usually in order to make other people laugh.
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.
to speak volumes — If something such as an action speaks volumes about a person or thing, it gives you a lot of information about them.
to spend a penny — If someone says that they are going to spend a penny, they mean that they are going to go to the toilet.
top-of-the-range — de luxe, expensive
topical-sentence — a sentence that expresses the essential idea of a paragraph or larger section, usually appearing at the beginning.
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.
trade acceptance — a bill of exchange drawn by the seller of goods on the buyer, and accepted by the buyer for payment at a future date.
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 company — a company that transports people or luggage for a relatively short distance, as between terminals of two railroad lines.
transfer payment — any payment made by a government for a purpose other than that of purchasing goods or services, as for welfare benefits.
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 number — that fraction of the total electric current that anions and cations carry in passing through an electrolytic solution.
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
turn up the heat — to increase the intensity of activity, coercion, etc
twelvepenny nail — a nail that is 3 1/4 inches (8.25 cm) long.
two-party system — a political system consisting chiefly of two major parties, more or less equal in strength.
two-pot screamer — a person easily influenced by alcohol
two-tailed pasha — a distinctive vanessid butterfly of S Europe, Charaxes jasius, having mottled brown wings with a yellow-orange margin and frilled hind edges
twofold purchase — a purchase using a double standing block and a double running block so as to give a mechanical advantage of four or five, neglecting friction, depending on whether the hauling is on the standing block or the running block.
type ii diabetes — diabetes (def 4).
typhoid bacillus — the bacterium Salmonella typhosa, causing typhoid fever.
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.
unapologetically — containing an apology or excuse for a fault, failure, insult, injury, etc.: An apologetic letter to his creditors explained the delay.
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
undercompensated — to compensate or pay less than is fair, customary, or expected.
underpitch vault — a construction having a central vault intersected by vaults of lower pitch.
unissued capital — authorized capital that has not yet been issued as shares

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