18-letter words containing p, i, s, t, l, a
- special relativity — the state or fact of being relative.
- specialist teacher — a teacher with expertise in working with children with special educational needs, such as dyslexia
- spectroheliography — the process of obtaining an image of the sun in light of a particular wavelength, such as calcium or hydrogen, showing the distribution of the element over the surface and in the solar atmosphere, using a spectroheliograph
- spectropolarimeter — an instrument for determining the extent to which plane-polarized light of various wavelengths is rotated by certain solutions, consisting of a combination of a spectroscope and a polarimeter.
- spectropolariscope — an instrument combining the functions of a spectroscope with those of a polariscope.
- spherical geometry — the branch of geometry that deals with figures on spherical surfaces.
- spherical triangle — a triangle formed by arcs of great circles of a sphere.
- spin stabilization — a technique by which a bullet, rocket, etc, is made to spin around its longitudinal axis to assist it in maintaining a steady flight path
- spinal anaesthesia — anaesthesia of the lower half of the body produced by injecting an anaesthetic beneath the arachnoid membrane surrounding the spinal cord
- status epilepticus — a condition in which repeated epileptic seizures occur without the patient gaining consciousness between them. If untreated for a prolonged period it can lead to long-term disability or death
- stepping-off place — jumping-off place (def 2).
- subatomic particle — physics:
- super giant slalom — a slalom race in which the course is longer and has more widely spaced gates than in a giant slalom.
- supraorbital ridge — browridge.
- talk between ships — TBS (def 1).
- television company — a company that broadcasts programmes by television
- temporal summation — the act or process of summing.
- terrestrial planet — inner planet.
- the middle passage — the journey across the Atlantic Ocean from the W coast of Africa to the Caribbean: the longest part of the journey of the slave ships sailing to the Caribbean or the Americas
- the practicalities — the real facts or details of a situation, as opposed to its theoretical aspects
- thiosulphuric acid — an unstable acid known only in solutions and in the form of its salts. Formula: H2S2O3
- thrills and spills — If you refer to thrills and spills, you are referring to an experience which is exciting and full of surprises.
- to lick into shape — If you lick, knock, or whip someone or something into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve them so that they are in the condition that you want them to be in.
- to play favourites — to display favouritism
- to scrape a living — If you say that someone scrapes a living or scratches a living, you mean that they manage to earn enough to live on, but it is very difficult. In American English, you say they scrape out a living or scratch out a living.
- to spill the beans — If you spill the beans, you tell someone something that people have been trying to keep secret.
- transylvanian alps — a mountain range in S Romania; a SW extension of the Carpathian Mountains. Highest peak: Mount Negoiu, 2548 m (8360 ft)
- venture capitalist — funds invested or available for investment in a new or unproven business enterprise.
- visible panty line — the line of someone's underwear which can be seen through trousers
- white-spotted hyla — a type of tree frog (H. leucophyllata) of tropical America
- withdrawal symptom — effects of stopping a drug