18-letter words containing p, s, i, o
- spectropolarimeter — an instrument for determining the extent to which plane-polarized light of various wavelengths is rotated by certain solutions, consisting of a combination of a spectroscope and a polarimeter.
- spectropolariscope — an instrument combining the functions of a spectroscope with those of a polariscope.
- speech recognition — Computers. the computerized analysis of spoken words in order to identify the speaker, as in security systems, or to respond to voiced commands: the analysis is performed by finding patterns in the spectrum of the incoming sound and comparing them with stored patterns of elements of sound, as phones, or of complete words.
- sperry corporation — (company) The company which merged with the Burroughs Corporation to form Unisys Corporation. Divisions included Sperry Univac, Sperry Flight Systems, and others. Some of these were sold off after the merger.
- spherical geometry — the branch of geometry that deals with figures on spherical surfaces.
- spike-tooth harrow — a harrow equipped with straight teeth on horizontal bars, usually employed to smooth and level plowed soil or seedbeds for planting or sowing.
- spin stabilization — a technique by which a bullet, rocket, etc, is made to spin around its longitudinal axis to assist it in maintaining a steady flight path
- spirits of ammonia — a 10% solution of ammonia in alcohol
- split-level cooker — a cooker that is designed with a separate oven and hob so that they can be fitted wherever is most convenient in the kitchen
- spread one's wings — to make full use of one's abilities
- statutory sick pay — the pay an employee is legally entitled to when sick
- stepping-off place — jumping-off place (def 2).
- subatomic particle — physics:
- subsidiary company — a company whose controlling interest is owned by another company.
- summary proceeding — a mode of trial authorized by statute to be held before a judge without the usual full hearing.
- super giant slalom — a slalom race in which the course is longer and has more widely spaced gates than in a giant slalom.
- superior vena cava — See under vena cava.
- superstring theory — any supersymmetric string theory in which each type of elementary particle is treated as a vibration of a single fundamental string (superstring) at a particular frequency.
- supporting actress — an actress playing a supporting role
- supportive therapy — any treatment, such as the intravenous administration of certain fluids, designed to reinforce or sustain the physiological well-being of a patient
- supraorbital ridge — browridge.
- sustaining program — a radio or television program without a commercial sponsor.
- system-programming — a program, as an operating system, compiler, or utility program, that controls some aspect of the operation of a computer (opposed to application program).
- systematic phoneme — a phonological unit in generative phonology representing an underlying form that takes into account the relationship between phonological patterns and morphological variation, as the unit underlying the second vowel in both derive and derivative.
- telephone sex line — a telephone line operated by a phone-sex worker that offers phone sex to paying customers
- television company — a company that broadcasts programmes by television
- temporal summation — the act or process of summing.
- the bottomless pit — the underworld; hell
- the encyclopedists — the writers of the French Encyclopedia (1751-72) edited by Diderot and d'Alembert, which contained the advanced ideas of the period
- thiosulphuric acid — an unstable acid known only in solutions and in the form of its salts. Formula: H2S2O3
- to cast aspersions — If you cast aspersions on someone or something, you suggest that they are not very good in some way.
- to lick into shape — If you lick, knock, or whip someone or something into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve them so that they are in the condition that you want them to be in.
- to pick and choose — If you pick and choose, you carefully choose only things that you really want and reject the others.
- to play favourites — to display favouritism
- to scrape a living — If you say that someone scrapes a living or scratches a living, you mean that they manage to earn enough to live on, but it is very difficult. In American English, you say they scrape out a living or scratch out a living.
- to speak your mind — If you speak your mind, you say firmly and honestly what you think about a situation, even if this may offend or upset people.
- to spill the beans — If you spill the beans, you tell someone something that people have been trying to keep secret.
- to spill your guts — if someone spills their guts, they tell you everything about something secret or private
- to stop at nothing — If you say that someone will stop at nothing to get something, you are emphasizing that they are willing to do things that are extreme, wrong, or dangerous in order to get it.
- torsion-free group — a group in which every element other than the identity has infinite order.
- transient response — A transient response of a circuit is a temporary change in the way that it behaves due to an external excitation, that will disappear with time.
- transporter bridge — a bridge for carrying passengers and vehicles by means of a platform suspended from a trolley.
- triphosphoric acid — the hypothetical acid H 5 P 3 O 10 , known chiefly by its salts.
- under-compensation — to compensate or pay less than is fair, customary, or expected.
- unisys corporation — (company) The company formed in 1984-5 when Burroughs Corporation merged with Sperry Corporation. This was when the phrase "dinosaurs mating" was coined. Unisys is one of the largest providers of information services, technology, and software in the world. They employ about 49,000 people and do business in some 100 countries. In 1994 about 80 percent of revenue was derived from commercial information systems and services, with the remainder coming from electronic systems and services for the defense market. The defense business was sold to Loral in early 1995. Slightly more than half of Unisys's revenue is from business in the United States. They specialise in providing business-critical solutions, based on open information networks, for organisations that operate in transaction-intensive environments. These organisations include financial services companies, airlines, telecommunications companies, government agencies, and other commercial enterprises. In August 1994, quarterly sales were $1799M and profits $50M.
- universal coupling — a coupling between rotating shafts set at an angle to one another, allowing for rotation in three planes.
- up to one's tricks — If you say that someone is up to their tricks or up to their old tricks, you disapprove of them because they are behaving in the dishonest or deceitful way in which they typically behave.
- video compact disc — (storage) (VCD) A storage format used for film distribution.
- visiting professor — a professor from another institution invited to teach at a university or college for a limited period, usually for a semester or one academic year.
- visitor's passport — (formerly, in Britain) a passport, valid for one year and for certain countries only, that could be purchased from post offices