14-letter words containing p, i, e, t, y
- passive safety — the practice of taking measures to reduce the consequences of accidents, as opposed to attempting to avoid them altogether
- paternity suit — legal dispute over identity of father
- paternity test — an assessment of possible paternity based on a comparison of the genetic markers of the offspring and those of the putative father.
- pay for itself — If something that you buy or invest in pays for itself after a period of time, the money you gain from it, or save because you have it, is greater than the amount you originally spent or invested.
- pay television — a commercial service that broadcasts or provides television programs to viewers who pay a monthly charge or a per-program fee.
- penalty killer — a player used when the player's team is short-handed as a result of a penalty, especially a player skilled at defense and employed regularly in such situations.
- penny-farthing — a high bicycle of an early type, with one large wheel in front and one small wheel behind.
- pentadactylism — the state of having five digits on each limb
- perceivability — capable of being perceived; perceptible.
- perceptibility — capable of being perceived; recognizable; appreciable: a perceptible change in his behavior.
- perfectibility — capable of becoming or of being made perfect; improvable.
- performability — the quality of being performable
- periodontology — periodontics.
- peritoneoscopy — an endoscopy examining the peritoneal cavity
- peritrichously — in a peritrichous manner; in a fashion characteristic of a peritrichous organism
- perlocutionary — (of a speech act) producing an effect upon the listener, as in persuading, frightening, amusing, or causing the listener to act.
- permissibility — that can be permitted; allowable: a permissible amount of sentimentality under the circumstances; Such behavior is not permissible!
- pertinaciously — holding tenaciously to a purpose, course of action, or opinion; resolute.
- petrochemistry — the branch of chemistry dealing with petroleum or its products.
- petrophysicist — a person who studies, or is an expert in, petrophysics
- petty criminal — someone who commits petty crime or a petty crime
- petty official — a minor official in government, etc
- phase velocity — the velocity with which a simple harmonic wave is propagated, equal to the wavelength divided by the period of vibration.
- phenotypically — the observable constitution of an organism.
- phenylthiourea — a crystalline, slightly water-soluble solid, C 6 H 5 NHCSNH 2 , that is either tasteless or bitter, depending upon the heredity of the taster, and is used in medical genetics and as a diagnostic.
- phonochemistry — the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical effects of sound and ultrasonic waves
- photochemistry — the branch of chemistry that deals with the chemical action of light.
- photosynthesis — the complex process by which carbon dioxide, water, and certain inorganic salts are converted into carbohydrates by green plants, algae, and certain bacteria, using energy from the sun and chlorophyll.
- photosynthetic — the complex process by which carbon dioxide, water, and certain inorganic salts are converted into carbohydrates by green plants, algae, and certain bacteria, using energy from the sun and chlorophyll.
- phthalocyanine — Also called metal-free phthalocyanine. a blue-green pigment, C 3 2 H 1 8 N 8 , derived from phthalic anhydride.
- phyllosilicate — any silicate mineral having the tetrahedral silicate groups linked in sheets, each group containing four oxygen atoms, three of which are shared with other groups so that the ratio of silicon atoms to oxygen atoms is two to five.
- phytochemistry — the branch of biochemistry dealing with plants and plant processes.
- picture layout — a picture spread. See under spread (def 33).
- pie in the sky — pie1 (def 8).
- piezochemistry — the study of chemical reactions at high pressures
- pitch cylinder — (in a gear or rack) an imaginary surface forming a plane (pitch plane) a cylinder (pitch cylinder) or a cone or frustrum (pitch cone) that moves tangentially to a similar surface in a meshing gear so that both surfaces travel at the same speed.
- plastic memory — the tendency of certain plastics after being deformed to resume their original form when heated
- platinocyanide — a salt of platinocyanic acid.
- play hell with — to throw into confusion and disorder; disrupt
- play it by ear — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- play the field — an expanse of open or cleared ground, especially a piece of land suitable or used for pasture or tillage.
- play with fire — a state, process, or instance of combustion in which fuel or other material is ignited and combined with oxygen, giving off light, heat, and flame.
- pleasurability — the characteristic of being pleasurable
- pleural cavity — a narrow, fluid-filled space between the pleural membranes of the lung and the inner chest wall.
- pneumatic tyre — a rubber tyre filled with air under pressure, used esp on motor vehicles
- poetry reading — a public recital or rendering of a poem
- police custody — If somebody or something is in police custody, they are kept somewhere secure, under the supervision of police officers, for example in a police station.
- polite society — sophisticated company
- polydispersity — the state of being polydisperse
- polymerization — the act or process of forming a polymer or polymeric compound.