19-letter words containing p, a
- angle of depression — depression (def 11).
- answerphone message — a pre-recorded message that is left on an answering machine, usually inviting callers to leave a message
- antarctic peninsula — the largest peninsula of Antarctica, between the Weddell Sea and the Pacific: consists of Graham Land in the north and the Palmer Peninsula in the south
- anthropic principle — the cosmological theory that the presence of life in the universe limits the ways in which the very early universe could have evolved
- anthropocentrically — regarding the human being as the central fact of the universe.
- anthropomorphically — ascribing human form or attributes to a being or thing not human, especially to a deity.
- anti-comintern pact — a pact formed in 1936, based on agreements between Germany and Japan to oppose communism and the Third International: Italy and Spain subsequently became signatories.
- anti-prohibitionist — a person who favors or advocates prohibition.
- anticipatory breach — a declaration by one party to a contract that it does not intend to fulfil its obligations to the second party, who can then accept this declaration and choose not to be bound by the contract
- anticompetitiveness — The quality of being anticompetitive.
- apollonius dyscolus — died a.d. c140, Greek grammarian.
- apollonius of perga — ?261–?190 bc, Greek mathematician, remembered for his treatise on conic sections
- appetite depressant — a product which reduces one's appetite
- appetitive behavior — activity that increases the likelihood of satisfying a specific need, as restless searching for food by a hungry predator (distinguished from consummatory behavior).
- application program — a computer program that is written and designed for a specific need or purpose
- application testing — system testing
- applied linguistics — linguistic theory as applied to such fields as lexicography, psychology, the teaching of reading, the creation of orthographies, and especially language teaching.
- appointment viewing — the practice of setting time aside to watch particular television programmes
- appointments bureau — an office responsible for filling appointments
- appraisal interview — an interview by the manager of an employee who is being appraised
- apres moi le deluge — after me the deluge
- armed response unit — (in Britain) a unit of police officers who are trained to use firearms in situations where unarmed police officers would be in danger
- army of the potomac — Union forces, trained and organized by Gen. George B. McClellan, that guarded Washington, D.C., against a Confederate invasion across the Potomac and fought battles in the eastern sector during the Civil War.
- as sick as a parrot — If you say that you feel as sick as a parrot, you feel very disappointed about something.
- as things/people go — You use expressions like as things go or as children go when you are describing one person or thing and comparing them with others of the same kind.
- asperger's syndrome — a form of autism in which the person affected has limited but obsessive interests, and has difficulty relating to other people
- assistant principal — a person who assists a principal in their work
- assistant professor — An assistant professor is a college teacher who ranks above an instructor but below an associate professor.
- associate professor — An associate professor is a college teacher who ranks above an assistant professor but below a professor.
- at one's fingertips — readily available and within one's mental grasp
- atmospheric braking — a technique of reentry in which the vehicle is maneuvered in the upper atmosphere so as to lose velocity by utilizing drag without overheating.
- attempt the life of — to try to kill
- audio response unit — a device that enables a computer to give a spoken response by generating sounds similar to human speech.
- auricular appendage — auricle (def 1b).
- auricular-appendage — Anatomy. the projecting outer portion of the ear; pinna. Also called auricular appendage. an ear-shaped appendage projecting from each atrium of the heart. (loosely) the atrium.
- australian fan palm — a fan palm, Livistona australis, of Australia, having a slender, reddish-brown trunk, spiny leafstalks, and round fruit.
- austro-prussian war — the war (1866) in which Prussia, Italy, and some minor German states opposed Austria, Saxony, Hanover, and the states of southern Germany.
- autoerotic asphyxia — asphyxia caused by intentionally strangling oneself while masturbating in order to intensify the orgasm through reduced oxygen flow to the brain.
- autotransplantation — autograft.
- awareness programme — a programme designed to increase awareness of something
- backward compatible — backward compatibility
- bacteriochlorophyll — a pale blue-gray form of chlorophyll that is unique to the photosynthetic but anaerobic purple bacteria.
- balance of payments — A country's balance of payments is the difference, over a period of time, between the payments it makes to other countries for imports and the payments it receives from other countries for exports.
- ballistocardiograph — an instrument that records the slight recoil of the body, while on a special bed, caused by the contractions of the heart: used to measure cardiac pumping power and the elasticity of the aorta
- balloon angioplasty — angioplasty in which a balloon catheter is moved to a blocked area of a blood vessel where the balloon is inflated to expand or force open the vessel
- balsam woolly aphid — any plant louse of the family Aphididae, characterized by a waxy secretion that appears like a jumbled mass of fine, curly, white cottony or woolly threads, as Eriosoma lanigerum (woolly apple aphid or American blight) and Prociphilus tessellatus (woolly alder aphid)
- banff national park — a national reserve, 2585 sq. mi. (6695 sq. km), in the Rocky Mountains, in SW Alberta, Canada.
- banker's acceptance — a draft or bill of exchange drawn on a bank and accepted by it
- bankruptcy petition — an official request for protection under bankruptcy laws, which initiates bankruptcy proceedings
- bargaining position — the position of a person, group, or organization in a negotiation, with respect to their ability to achieve a deal which is favourable to themselves