12-letter words containing p, o, t, s
- poetastering — the profession of being a poetaster
- poeticalness — the characteristic of being poetical
- pogson ratio — the brightness ratio of two celestial objects that differ by one magnitude. On the Pogson scale a difference of 5 magnitudes is defined as a difference of 100 in the intensities of two stars; therefore a difference of 1 magnitude is equal to the fifth root of 100, i.e. 2.512
- point source — a source of radiation sufficiently distant compared to its length and width that it can be considered as a point.
- point spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- point system — Printing. a system for grading the sizes of type bodies, leads, etc., that employs the point as a unit of measurement. Compare point (def 48a).
- point-spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- polar lights — the aurora borealis in the Northern Hemisphere or the aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere.
- police state — a nation in which the police, especially a secret police, summarily suppresses any social, economic, or political act that conflicts with governmental policy.
- poliorcetics — the science of siegecraft
- polish wheat — a wheat, Triticum polonicum, grown chiefly in S Europe, N Africa, and Turkestan.
- politicaster — an ill-suited or disliked politician
- pollutedness — the state of being polluted
- polycentrism — the doctrine that a plurality of independent centers of leadership, power, or ideology may exist within a single political system, especially Communism.
- polychaetous — of or relating to the genus Polychaeta
- polygamistic — a person who practices or favors polygamy.
- polyglottous — characterized by being multilingual
- polygraphist — an instrument for receiving and recording simultaneously tracings of variations in certain body activities.
- polyhistoric — relating to a polyhistor
- polymyositis — a disorder characterized by the inflammation of multiple muscles
- polyneuritis — inflammation of several nerves at the same time; multiple neuritis.
- polyoestrous — polyestrous.
- polypetalous — having a corolla of separate petals.
- polystichous — arranged in rows or series.
- polysynaptic — having or involving more than one synapse.
- polysyndeton — the use of a number of conjunctions in close succession.
- polytheistic — pertaining to, characterized by, or adhering to polytheism, the doctrine that there is more than one god or many gods: Science thrived in the polytheistic culture of ancient Greece.
- ponta grossa — a city in S Brazil.
- pontificates — the office or term of office of a pontiff.
- poodle skirt — 1950s-style woman's circular skirt
- porismatical — porismatic
- port angeles — a city in NW Washington, on the Juan de Fuca Strait.
- port chester — a city in SE New York, on Long Island Sound.
- port de bras — (used with a singular verb) the technique of moving the arms properly.
- port jackson — an inlet of the Pacific in SE Australia: the harbor of Sydney.
- port moresby — an independent republic in the W Pacific Ocean, comprising the E part of New Guinea and numerous near-lying islands, including the Bismarck Archipelago, the Admiralty Islands, the Trobriand Islands, and Bougainville and Buka in the Solomon Islands: a former Australian Trusteeship Territory; independent since 1975; member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 178,260 sq. mi. (461,693 sq. km). Capital: Port Moresby.
- portentously — of the nature of a portent; momentous.
- positionally — in terms of position, from a positional point of view
- positive ion — an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons, as a cation (positive ion) which is created by electron loss and is attracted to the cathode in electrolysis, or as an anion (negative ion) which is created by an electron gain and is attracted to the anode. The valence of an ion is equal to the number of electrons lost or gained and is indicated by a plus sign for cations and a minus sign for anions, thus: Na + , Cl−, Ca ++ , S = .
- positive law — customary law or law enacted by governmental authority (as distinguished from natural law).
- positiveness — explicitly stated, stipulated, or expressed: a positive acceptance of the agreement.
- positivistic — the state or quality of being positive; definiteness; assurance.
- positivities — the state or character of being positive: a positivity that accepts the world as it is.
- post captain — (formerly) a naval officer holding a commission as a captain, as distinct from an officer with the courtesy title of captain
- post-fascist — of or relating to various right-wing political parties in Europe which espouse a modified form of fascism and which take part in constitutional politics
- post-fordism — the idea that modern industrial production has moved away from mass production in huge factories, as pioneered by Henry Ford, towards specialized markets based on small flexible manufacturing units
- post-glacial — after a given glacial epoch, especially the Pleistocene.
- post-harvest — Also, harvesting. the gathering of crops.
- post-it note — a small square of sticky paper on which notes can be written
- post-looping — post-synchronization.