12-letter words containing p, l, i, e, r
- retropulsion — an abnormal tendency to walk backwards: a symptom of Parkinson's disease
- retropulsive — of or relating to retropulsion
- ripe old age — advanced age
- role playing — role-play used as a method of training or education
- role-playing — a method of instruction or psychotherapy aimed at changing attitudes and behavior, in which participants act out designated roles relevant to real-life situations.
- rumble strip — one of a series of rough or slightly raised strips of pavement on a highway, intended to slow down the speed of vehicles, as before a toll booth.
- run in place — to go quickly by moving the legs more rapidly than at a walk and in such a manner that for an instant in each step all or both feet are off the ground.
- schiaparelli — Elsa [el-sah] /ˈɛl sɑ/ (Show IPA), 1890–1973, French fashion designer, born in Italy.
- scolopendrid — any myriapod of the order Scolopendrida, including many large, poisonous centipedes.
- scopes trial — John Thomas, 1901–70, U.S. high-school teacher whose teaching of the Darwinian theory of evolution became a cause célèbre (Scopes Trial or Monkey Trial) in 1925.
- self-priming — the powder or other material used to ignite a charge.
- self-proving — to establish the truth or genuineness of, as by evidence or argument: to prove one's claim.
- self-worship — reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
- semi-popular — regarded with favor, approval, or affection by people in general: a popular preacher.
- semitropical — subtropical.
- separability — capable of being separated, parted, or dissociated.
- septilateral — having seven sides.
- seraphically — of, like, or befitting a seraph.
- serpentinely — in a serpentine fashion
- shepherdling — a young or little shepherd
- short splice — a splice used when an increased thickness of the united rope is not objectionable, made by unlaying the rope ends a certain distance, uniting them so that their strands overlap, then tucking each alternately over and under others several times.
- siderophilic — having characteristics of siderophile
- sidesplitter — something that is uproariously funny, as a joke or a situation.
- silver maple — a maple, Acer saccharinum, having leaves that are light green above and silvery white beneath.
- silver paper — silver foil.
- silver perch — Also called mademoiselle. Ichthyology. a drum, Bairdiella chrysoura, of southern U.S. waters.
- silver plate — thin coat of silver
- silver point — the melting point of silver, equal to 960.8°C, used as a fixed point on the international temperature scale.
- silver spoon — spoon (def 16).
- silver-plate — to coat (base metal) with silver, especially by electroplating.
- simple fruit — a fruit formed from one pistil.
- simple group — a group that has no normal subgroup except the group itself and the identity.
- simple meter — any time signature in which the upper figure indicates two, three, or four beats per measure, as 2/8, 3/2, 4/4, etc.
- simple sugar — monosaccharide.
- simple syrup — a thick, sweet liquid, usually prepared from sugar and water and used chiefly as a base for soda fountain flavors.
- single-party — of or relating to a form of government in which only a single political party constitutes the government
- single-payer — noting or relating to a healthcare or health insurance system in which the government or a publicly owned and regulated agency pays all medical costs from a single fund.
- sleeping car — a railroad car fitted with berths, compartments, bedrooms, or drawing rooms for passengers to sleep in.
- slipper bath — a bath in the shape of a slipper, with a covered end
- slipper foot — an elongated pad foot.
- slipper sock — a sock with a soft leather or vinyl sole sewn onto it, used as indoor footwear.
- slippery dip — a long slide at a playground or funfair
- slippery elm — an elm, Ulmus rubra, of eastern North America, having a mucilaginous inner bark.
- sloop-rigged — (of a sailboat) fore-and-aft rigged with a mainsail and a jib.
- soil profile — a vertical succession of horizons, commonly lettered A, B, C (beginning at the surface), that have been subjected to soil-forming processes, chiefly leaching and oxidation.
- space-filler — a short article of little or no importance written to fill space in a magazine or newspaper
- spark-killer — a device for diminishing sparking, consisting of a capacitor and a resistor connected in series across two points where sparking may occur in a circuit.
- special area — distressed area.
- special jury — struck jury.
- special rule — a principle or regulation governing conduct, action, procedure, arrangement, etc.: the rules of chess.