16-letter words containing p, r, a, t, o
- phosphor fatigue — screen saver
- photoautotrophic — any organism that derives its energy for food synthesis from light and is capable of using carbon dioxide as its principal source of carbon.
- photochronograph — a device formerly used for taking a series of instantaneous photographs of a rapidly moving object.
- photograph album — bound book for photos
- photolithography — the technique or art of making photolithographs.
- photopolarimeter — a polarimeter that uses a photocell.
- photorespiration — the oxidation of carbohydrates in many higher plants in which they get oxygen from light and then release carbon dioxide, somewhat different from photosynthesis.
- photozincography — a type of photoengraving using a sensitized zinc plate.
- phytoremediation — a process of decontaminating soil or water by using plants and trees to absorb or break down pollutants.
- picture postcard — postcard (def 1).
- pinot chardonnay — Chardonnay.
- pithecanthropine — of, belonging to, or resembling a former genus (Pithecanthropus, now classified as Homo erectus) of extinct early humans, who lived in Java, China, Europe, and Africa
- pithecanthropoid — of, relating to, or resembling the former genus Pithecanthropus or one of its members.
- plaster of paris — calcined gypsum in white, powdery form, used as a base for gypsum plasters, as an additive of lime plasters, and as a material for making fine and ornamental casts: characterized by its ability to set rapidly when mixed with water.
- platform-balance — a scale with a platform for holding the items to be weighed.
- platoon sergeant — the senior noncommissioned officer in a platoon, equivalent to sergeant first class.
- pneumatic trough — a trough filled with liquid, especially water, for collecting gases in bell jars or the like by displacement.
- pocket billiards — pool2 (def 1).
- pocket secretary — a long, narrow walletlike case, usually of leather and containing pockets for credit and business cards, paper money, etc., and sometimes a notepad and pencil.
- poitou-charentes — a region of W central France, on the Bay of Biscay: mainly low-lying
- polar coordinate — Usually, polar coordinates. one of two coordinates used to locate a point in a plane by the length of its radius vector and the angle this vector makes with the polar axis (polar angle)
- polar opposition — the relation between a pair of antonyms that denote relatively higher and lower degrees of a quality with respect to an explicit or implicit norm rather than absolute values, as the relation between tall and short or light and dark, but not between true and false.
- poor boy sweater — a snug-fitting, pullover sweater with ribbing on both the body and sleeves, worn by girls and women.
- poor white trash — white trash.
- pork scratchings — small pieces of crisply cooked pork crackling, eaten cold as an appetizer with drinks
- port authorities — the body with overall responsibility for a port
- port phillip bay — a bay in SE Australia: the harbor of Melbourne. 31 miles (50 km) long; 25 miles (40 km) wide.
- portable airtime — (communications, wireless) A wireless, digital communications system enabling user-to-user voice communication, "quicknotes", and alphanumeric messaging.
- portal-to-portal — noting or pertaining to the time a worker spends from entering the workplace to stepping outside, especially in relation to pay.
- portmanteau word — a case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, especially a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves.
- portrait gallery — a gallery where pictures are displayed
- portrait painter — artist: paints likenesses
- portuguese india — a former Portuguese overseas territory on the W coast of India, consisting of the districts of Gôa, Daman, and Diu: annexed by India December 1961. Capital: Gôa.
- posigrade rocket — an auxiliary rocket used to separate the sections of a multistage rocket, fired in the direction of flight.
- post-reformation — the act of reforming; state of being reformed.
- post-renaissance — the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art, literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world.
- post-romanticism — romantic spirit or tendency.
- potato tuberworm — the larva of the potato moth.
- potential energy — the energy of a body or a system with respect to the position of the body or the arrangement of the particles of the system.
- powerpc platform — (architecture, standard) (PPCP, PReP - PowerPC Reference Platform, formerly CHRP - Common Hardware Reference Platform) An open system standard, designed by IBM, intended to ensure compatibility among PowerPC-based systems built by different companies. The PReP standard specifies the PCI bus, but will also support ISA, MicroChannel and PCMCIA. PReP-compliant systems will be able to run the Macintosh OS, OS/2, WorkplaceOS, AIX, Solaris, Taligent and Windows NT. IBM systems will (of course) be PReP-compliant. Apple's first PowerPC Macintoshes will not be compliant, but future ones may be.
- practical reason — (in Kantian ethics) reason applied to the problem of action and choice, especially in ethical matters.
- practice session — a period of training that takes place over a set period of time, for example an hour or several hours
- praetorian guard — the bodyguard of a military commander, especially the imperial guard stationed in Rome.
- pragmatic theory — the theory of truth that the truth of a statement consists in its practical consequences, especially in its agreement with subsequent experience.
- pre-conversation — informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy.
- pre-emancipation — the act of emancipating.
- pre-registration — the act of registering.
- pre-solicitation — the act of soliciting.
- precast concrete — ready-formed cement mixture
- precinct station — a police station for police responsible for a district of a city