16-letter words containing p, o, e, r
- summer complaint — an acute condition of diarrhea, occurring during the hot summer months chiefly in infants and children, caused by bacterial contamination of food and associated with poor hygiene.
- sun in splendour — a representation of the sun with rays and a human face
- super-injunction — an instruction or order issued by a court imposing restrictions on reporting, including any reference to the restriction itself
- super-patriotism — a person who is patriotic to an extreme.
- superciliousness — haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
- superfecundation — the fertilization of two or more ova discharged at the same ovulation by successive acts of sexual intercourse.
- superior general — the superior of an order or congregation.
- supernationalism — an extreme or fanatical loyalty or devotion to a nation.
- superunification — a theory intended to describe the electromagnetic force, the strong force, the weak force, and gravity as a single, unified force.
- take a page from — to follow the example of; imitate
- tandem computers — (company) A US computer manufacturer. Quarterly sales $544M, profits $49M (Aug 1994).
- tax depreciation — Tax depreciation is depreciation in a company's internal financial records that is different from the amount that is used for the internal books.
- telephone number — digits dialled to reach sb by phone
- telespectroscope — a combination of a telescope and a spectroscope, used for spectroscopic analysis of radiation from stars and other celestial bodies
- temperature spot — a sensory area in the skin that selectively responds to increased or decreased temperature; a warm spot or a cold spot.
- tephrochronology — a geochronologic technique based on the dating of layers of volcanic ash.
- terminal adaptor — (networking, hardware) (TA) Equipment used to adapt Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Basic Rate Interface (BRI) channels to existing terminal equipment standards such as EIA-232 and V.35. A Terminal Adaptor is typically packaged like a modem, either as a stand-alone unit or as an interface card that plugs into a computer or other communications equipment (such as a router or PBX). A Terminal Adaptor does not interoperate with a modem; it replaces it.
- terms of payment — The terms of payment of a sale state how and when an invoice is to be paid.
- the anthropocene — a proposed term for the present geological epoch (from the time of the Industrial Revolution onwards), during which humanity has begun to have a significant impact on the environment
- the best part of — most of
- the first couple — the US president and their spouse
- the gospel truth — the unquestionable truth
- the great powers — the states or nations of the world with the most economic, political and military strength
- the herring-pond — the Atlantic Ocean
- the moving party — a person who applies to a court or judge with the aim of obtaining a ruling in their favour
- the preconscious — preconscious mental activity
- the yellow press — (formerly) popular newspapers publishing sensational stories
- theatre workshop — a theatre company that is noted for the unconventional theatrical performances it puts on, especially with reference to a company based in the East End of London from 1953 to 1973 that was founded in 1945 by Joan Littlewood
- thermoacidophile — any organism, especially a type of archaebacterium, that thrives in strongly acidic environments at high temperatures.
- thermoplasticity — soft and pliable when heated, as some plastics, without any change of the inherent properties.
- three-point line — Basketball. a field goal worth three points, made from behind a specified line (three-point line)
- three-point play — a play in which a player sinks the free throw that was awarded when the player was fouled while scoring a basket.
- three-point turn — When the driver of a vehicle does a three-point turn, he or she turns the vehicle by driving forwards in a curve, then backwards in a curve, and then forwards in a curve.
- thrombocytopenia — an abnormal decrease in the number of blood platelets.
- thrombophlebitis — the presence of a thrombus in a vein accompanied by inflammation of the vessel wall.
- through-composed — having different music for each verse: a through-composed song. Compare strophic (def 2).
- tightrope walker — performer who walks on high wire
- to bite your lip — If you bite your lip or your tongue, you stop yourself from saying something that you want to say, because it would be the wrong thing to say in the circumstances.
- to coin a phrase — You say 'to coin a phrase' to show that you realize you are making a pun or using a cliché.
- 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 dip your toes — If you dip your toes into something or dip your toes into the waters of something, you start doing that thing slowly and carefully, because you are not sure whether it will be successful or whether you will like it.
- 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 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 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.
- tongue depressor — a broad, thin piece of wood used by doctors to hold down the patient's tongue during an examination of the mouth and throat.
- top drive system — A top drive system is a system which includes a motor that turns the drill string, used instead of the kelly.
- top-of-the-range — de luxe, expensive
- 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.
- torsion pendulum — a pendulum the weight of which is rotated alternately in opposite directions through a horizontal plane by the torsion of the suspending rod or spring: used for clocks intended to run a long time between windings.