12-letter words containing p, o, t, s
- pause button — a button on a video or music player which can be pressed to temporarily stop the playing of the recording
- paving stone — slab used to lay a path
- pearl oyster — any of several marine bivalve mollusks of the family Pteriidae, some of which form pearls of great value, inhabiting waters of eastern Asia and off the coasts of Panama and Baja California.
- pekinologist — a person who studies the People's Republic of China
- penalty shot — a free shot at the goal defended only by the goalkeeper, awarded to an offensive player for certain defensive violations.
- penalty spot — a point within the penalty area and 12 yards (about 11 m) from the goal, from which a penalty kick may be taken
- penny stocks — Penny stocks are high-risk stock that sells for a very low price outside of the main stock exchange.
- percutaneous — administered, removed, or absorbed by way of the skin, as an injection, needle biopsy, or transdermal drug.
- perforations — the holes punched that allow individual stamps, coupons, etc to be easily separated
- perfusionist — a medical technician or nurse who monitors and operates equipment that oxygenates the blood, as during open-heart surgery
- period costs — Period costs are general costs that cannot be associated with a particular product, such as utilities or insurance.
- periodontics — the branch of dentistry dealing with the study and treatment of diseases of the periodontium.
- periodontist — a specialist in periodontics.
- periostracum — the external, chitinlike covering of the shell of certain mollusks that protects the limy portion from acids.
- peristeronic — of, pertaining to, or resembling pigeons
- peristomatic — surrounding a leaf's stoma or stomata
- peritrichous — (of bacteria) having a uniform distribution of flagella over the body surface.
- perquisition — an intensive and meticulous examination, pursuit, or hunt for something
- perseverator — a person who perseverates
- persian knot — a hand-tied knot, used in rug weaving, in which the ends of yarn looped around a warp thread appear at each of the interstices between adjacent threads and produce a compact and relatively even pile effect.
- perspiration — a salty, watery fluid secreted by the sweat glands of the skin, especially when very warm as a result of strenuous exertion; sweat.
- perspiratory — of, relating to, or stimulating perspiration.
- pertinacious — holding tenaciously to a purpose, course of action, or opinion; resolute.
- pest control — rats, insects: extermination
- pester power — the ability possessed by a child to nag a parent relentlessly until the parent succumbs and agrees to the child's request
- pestological — relating to pestology
- pet passport — a document that officially records information related to a specific animal, as part of a scheme that allows animals to travel between member countries without undergoing quarantine
- petaliferous — bearing or having petals.
- petitionings — a number of appeals or requests
- petrobrusian — a member of a 12th-century sect in S France that rejected the Mass, infant baptism, prayers for the dead, sacerdotalism, the veneration of the cross, and the building of churches.
- petrochemist — someone who studies petrochemistry or works in the petrochemical industry
- petrodollars — Petrodollars are a unit of money used to calculate how much a country has earned by exporting petroleum or natural gas.
- petrogenesis — the branch of petrology dealing with the origin and formation of rocks.
- petrophysics — the analysis of the constitution and characteristics of rocks
- petrozavodsk — a city in NW Russia, capital of the Karelian Autonomous Republic, on Lake Onega: developed around ironworks established by Peter the Great in 1703; university (1940). Pop: 265 000 (2005 est)
- phagocytoses — phagocytize.
- phagocytosis — Physiology. the ingestion of a smaller cell or cell fragment, a microorganism, or foreign particles by means of the local infolding of a cell's membrane and the protrusion of its cytoplasm around the fold until the material has been surrounded and engulfed by closure of the membrane and formation of a vacuole: characteristic of amebas and some types of white blood cells.
- phenocrystic — relating to a phenocryst
- philosophist — a person who affects philosophical knowledge
- phlebotomist — a specialist in phlebotomy.
- phonasthenia — difficult or abnormal voice production; vocal weakness.
- phonesthemic — (of a speech sound) shared by a set of echoic or symbolic words, as the sn- of sneer, snarl, snatch, snide, snitch, snoop, etc.
- phonotactics — the patterns in which the phonemes of a language may combine to form sequences.
- phosphatidic — of or relating to a phosphatide
- phosphatidyl — an atom or group of atoms containing one or more unpaired electrons derived from a phosphatide
- phosphaturia — the presence of an excessive quantity of phosphates in the urine.
- phosphoreted — phosphureted.
- phosphureted — combined with phosphorus, especially in its lowest valence state.
- photo finish — a finish of a race in which two or more contestants are so close to the finish line that reference to a photograph of the finish is necessary to determine the winner.
- photo spread — a picture spread. See under spread (def 33).