18-letter words containing p, r, u, s
- mucopolysaccharide — (formerly) glycosaminoglycan.
- multiple ownership — ownership by several people or organizations
- multiple sclerosis — a chronic degenerative, often episodic disease of the central nervous system marked by patchy destruction of the myelin that surrounds and insulates nerve fibers, usually appearing in young adulthood and manifested by one or more mild to severe neural and muscular impairments, as spastic weakness in one or more limbs, local sensory losses, bladder dysfunction, or visual disturbances.
- muscular dystrophy — a hereditary disease characterized by gradual wasting of the muscles with replacement by scar tissue and fat, sometimes also affecting the heart.
- natural philosophy — natural science.
- nebular hypothesis — the theory that the solar system evolved from a mass of nebular matter: prominent in the 19th century following its precise formulation by Laplace.
- neuroleptanalgesia — a semiconscious nonreactive state induced by certain drug combinations, as fentanyl with droperidol.
- neurophysiological — the branch of physiology dealing with the functions of the nervous system.
- neuropsychodynamic — Of or pertaining to neuropsychodynamics.
- neuropsychological — Of or pertaining to neuropsychology, the relation or combination of brain and mind.
- neutrosophic logic — (logic) (Or "Smarandache logic") A generalisation of fuzzy logic based on Neutrosophy. A proposition is t true, i indeterminate, and f false, where t, i, and f are real values from the ranges T, I, F, with no restriction on T, I, F, or the sum n=t+i+f. Neutrosophic logic thus generalises: - intuitionistic logic, which supports incomplete theories (for 0
- nonpartisan league — a political organization of farmers, founded in North Dakota in 1915, and extending to many states west of the Mississippi, with the aim of influencing agricultural legislation in state legislatures.
- north truchas peak — a mountain in N New Mexico, near Santa Fe: one of the three Truchas Peaks. 13,110 feet (3999 meters).
- nurse practitioner — a registered nurse who has received special training for diagnosing and treating routine or minor ailments. Abbreviation: NP.
- nurse-practitioner — a registered nurse who has received special training for diagnosing and treating routine or minor ailments. Abbreviation: NP.
- old curiosity shop — a novel (1840–41) by Dickens.
- one's number is up — one is finished; one is ruined or about to die
- open heart surgery — surgery performed on the exposed heart while a heart-lung machine pumps and oxygenates the blood and diverts it from the heart.
- open-heart surgery — surgery performed on the exposed heart while a heart-lung machine pumps and oxygenates the blood and diverts it from the heart.
- optical soundtrack — the final soundtrack on a motion picture, which appears as a band of black and white serrations along a strip of film to the left of the composite print. Light is shined through the serrations and is converted to audible sound.
- orthopedic surgery — corrective operation on bones or joints
- outer automorphism — an automorphism that is not an inner automorphism.
- overpressurization — pressure in excess of normal atmospheric pressure, as that caused by an explosion's shock wave or created in an accelerating airplane.
- ox-tongue partisan — a shafted weapon having a long, wide, tapering blade.
- pacinian corpuscle — (sometimes lowercase) a microscopic, onionlike body consisting of layers of connective tissue wrapped around a nerve ending, located in the deep layers of skin, tendons, etc., and functioning as a sensory receptor of pressure and vibration.
- paediatric nursing — the branch of nursing concerned with the care of children
- par for the course — an equality in value or standing; a level of equality: The gains and the losses are on a par.
- pass the hat round — to collect money, as for a cause
- passing-out parade — a ceremonial parade of cadets who have completed their training
- passive vocabulary — all the words, collectively, that a person can understand
- payment by results — a system of wage payment whereby all or part of the wage varies systematically according to the level of work performance of an employee
- pedal steel guitar — an oblong, floor-mounted electrified guitar, usually having ten strings, fretted with a steel bar and producing a wailing sound that is modulated by use of a foot pedal.
- pemphigus vulgaris — a potentially fatal blistering skin disease, characterized by large blisters on the skin, mucous membranes of the mouth, genitals, intestines, etc, which eventually rupture and form painful denuded areas from which critical amounts of bodily protein, fluid, and blood may be lost
- pensioneer trustee — (in Britain) a person authorized by HMRC to oversee the management of a pension fund
- per ardua ad astra — through difficulties to the stars: the motto of the RAF
- percussion flaking — a method of forming a flint tool by striking flakes from a stone core with another stone or a piece of bone or wood.
- percussion section — orchestra, group: drums, etc.
- percussion welding — a form of resistance welding in which the required pressure is provided by a hammerlike blow.
- perfect continuous — perfect progressive.
- perish the thought — to die or be destroyed through violence, privation, etc.: to perish in an earthquake.
- pernicious anaemia — Pernicious anaemia is a very severe blood disease.
- persistent cruelty — conduct causing fear of danger to the life or health of a spouse (used in matrimonial proceedings before magistrates)
- personal bodyguard — a person employed to protect a particular person
- personal insurance — insurance on personal risk, such as car insurance, health insurance or loss of earnings insurance
- petite bourgeoisie — the portion of the bourgeoisie having the least wealth and lowest social status; the lower middle class.
- pitch-and-run shot — chip shot.
- pitt-rivers museum — a museum in Oxford that houses a major anthropological collection of tools and weapons assembled by Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers
- play silly buggers — to fool around and waste time
- pleasure principle — an automatic mental drive or instinct seeking to avoid pain and to obtain pleasure.
- plumber's merchant — a shop or business that sells things needed for the job of installing and repairing pipes, fixtures, etc, for water, drainage, and gas