17-letter words containing p, r, i, c
- spastic paralysis — a condition in which the muscles affected are marked by tonic spasm and increased tendon reflexes.
- spatial frequency — the measure of fine detail in an optical image in terms of cycles per millimetre
- special messenger — a postal worker who delivers mail by special delivery
- special privilege — exclusive advantage
- spectroheliograph — an apparatus for making photographs of the sun with a monochromatic light to show the details of the sun's surface and surroundings as they would appear if the sun emitted only that light.
- spectrohelioscope — a spectroheliograph.
- spectromicroscope — a microscope with an attached spectroscope.
- spectroradiometer — an instrument for determining the radiant-energy distribution in a spectrum, combining the functions of a spectroscope with those of a radiometer.
- spectroscopically — an optical device for producing and observing a spectrum of light or radiation from any source, consisting essentially of a slit through which the radiation passes, a collimating lens, and an Amici prism.
- spectrum analysis — the determination of the constitution or condition of bodies and substances by means of the spectra they produce.
- spectrum disorder — any of a group of disorders each having symptoms that occur on a continuum and certain features that are shared along its spectrum but that manifest in markedly different forms and degrees. See also autism spectrum disorder.
- speech correction — the reeducation of speech habits that deviate from accepted speech standards.
- speed restriction — the maximum speed allowed for road vehicles, trains, or other vehicles
- spherical polygon — a closed figure formed by arcs of great circles on a spherical surface.
- sports facilities — places and things for doing sports
- spring cankerworm — the striped, green caterpillar of any of several geometrid moths: a foliage pest of various fruit and shade trees, as Paleacrita vernata (spring cankerworm) and Alsophila pometaria (fall cankerworm)
- spruce gall aphid — any of various homopterous insects of the family Adelgidae, as Adelges abietis (spruce gall aphid) and Pineus pinifoliae (pine leaf aphid) that feed and form galls on conifers.
- st. crispin's day — October 25: anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt (1415).
- stenothermophilic — growing best within a narrow temperature range.
- stereospecificity — (of a reaction) producing a simple stereoisomer.
- storm in a teacup — a violent fuss or disturbance over a trivial matter
- stray capacitance — undesired capacitance in equipment, occurring between the wiring, between the wiring and the chassis, or between components and the chassis
- subjective spirit — spirit, insofar as it falls short of the attainments of objective spirit.
- subscription rate — the price charged for a subscription
- superaerodynamics — the branch of aerodynamics that deals with gases at very low densities.
- supercolumniation — the placing of one order of columns above another.
- superconductivity — the phenomenon of almost perfect conductivity shown by certain substances at temperatures approaching absolute zero. The recent discovery of materials that are superconductive at temperatures hundreds of degrees above absolute zero raises the possibility of revolutionary developments in the production and transmission of electrical energy.
- support mechanism — any formal system or method of providing support or assistance
- supreme sacrifice — the sacrifice of one's own life: Many made the supreme sacrifice during the war.
- tactile corpuscle — an oval sense organ made of flattened cells and encapsulated nerve endings, occurring in hairless skin, as the tips of the fingers and toes, and functioning as a touch receptor.
- teaching practice — Teaching practice is a period that a student teacher spends teaching at a school as part of his or her training.
- technical support — an advising and troubleshooting service provided by a manufacturer, typically a software or hardware developer, to its customers, often online or on the telephone.
- telephone service — a company or public utility that provides a telephone-operating service
- telescopic damper — a device with telescopic parts that reduce vibration in a motor vehicle
- terephthalic acid — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble solid, C 8 H 6 O 2 , the para isomer of phthalic acid: used chiefly in the manufacture of resins and textile fibers.
- terminal capacity — The terminal capacity is the volume which can be stored in a terminal (= building or area with tanks).
- the olympic torch — a torch that is symbolically lit at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia and transported by relay to the place where the Olympic Games are to be held. It is used to ignite a fire in a cauldron that will burn throughout the Games
- thematic approach — teaching organized by theme rather than by school subject
- therapeutic index — the ratio between the dosage of a drug that causes a lethal effect and the dosage that causes a therapeutic effect.
- therapeutic touch — the laying on of hands by a healer
- thermoperiodicity — the effect on an organism of rhythmic fluctuations in temperature.
- three-piece suite — a set of three matching pieces of furniture, usually a combination of a sofa and chairs
- throat microphone — a microphone worn around the throat and actuated by vibrations of the larynx, used when background noise would obscure the sound of speech, as in an airplane cockpit.
- to lick your lips — If you lick your lips, you move your tongue across your lips as you think about or taste something pleasant.
- top-security wing — a wing of a prison, mental hospital, etc that has a very high level of precautions against escape
- topological group — a set that is a group and a topological space and for which the group operation and the map of an element to its inverse are continuous functions.
- traffic policeman — a policeman controlling traffic, esp while stationed at an intersection, or enforcing traffic regulations
- trapdoor function — a function defined from data by means of a mathematical procedure in such a way that it is easy to obtain the function when the data are known, but when the procedure and data are not known it becomes very difficult to determine the original data: used in cryptography, where the data are the characters of the plain text, or message, and the trapdoor function is the cryptogram.
- trick photography — photography that creates an illusion
- tropical aquarium — an aquarium designed for the maintenance and breeding of tropical fish and kept at a suitably warm temperature.