16-letter words containing p, t, e, r
- dangling pointer — (programming) A reference that doesn't actually lead anywhere. In C and some other languages, a pointer that doesn't actually point at anything valid. Usually this happens because it formerly pointed to something that has moved or disappeared, e.g. a heap-allocated block which has been freed and reused. Used as jargon in a generalisation of its technical meaning; for example, a local phone number for a person who has since moved is a dangling pointer.
- data compression — the act of compressing.
- data preparation — the process of converting data or information into a form that can be read by a computer, so that the data can then be entered into the computer
- dc potentiometer — A DC potentiometer is a potentiometer in which the supply is a battery and the balance is under direct current conditions.
- debut appearance — debut
- decision support — Software used to aid management decision making, typically relying on a decision support database.
- deflationary gap — a situation in which total spending in an economy is insufficient to buy all the output that can be produced with full employment
- dementia praecox — schizophrenia
- democratic party — (in the US) the older and more liberal of the two major political parties, so named since 1840
- depart this life — to die
- department store — A department store is a large shop which sells many different kinds of goods.
- departmentalized — Simple past tense and past participle of departmentalize.
- departmentalizes — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of departmentalize.
- departure lounge — In an airport, the departure lounge is the place where passengers wait before they get onto their plane.
- departure signal — a piece of equipment beside a railway which indicates to train drivers whether they should depart or not
- depleted uranium — Depleted uranium is a type of uranium that is used in some bombs.
- depolymerisation — (chemistry) alternative spelling of depolymerization.
- depolymerization — (chemistry) The decomposition of a polymer into smaller fragments.
- depressurization — to remove the air pressure from (a pressurized compartment of an aircraft or spacecraft).
- depth perception — ability to see objects in perspective
- deputy secretary — the Deputy Secretary of State or Defense etc
- development area — (in Britain) an area suffering from high unemployment and economic depression, because of the decline of its main industries, that is given government help to establish new industries
- devonshire split — a kind of yeast bun split open and served with whipped cream or butter and jam
- dew-point spread — the degrees of difference between the air temperature and the dew point
- dextromethorphan — (pharmaceutical drug) An antitussive drug (a cough suppressant) that is found in many over-the-counter cold and cough preparations.
- diacetylmorphine — heroin.
- digital computer — a computer that processes information in digital form.
- diphosphorylated — (biochemistry) phosphorylated with two units of phosphoric acid.
- disappearing act — magic trick
- dispersing agent — a surface-active substance added to a suspension, usually a colloid, to improve the separation of particles and to prevent settling or clumping
- display terminal — Visual Display Unit
- disproportionate — not proportionate; out of proportion, as in size or number.
- disreputableness — The state or quality of being disreputable or disgraceful; disreputability.
- do sth in person — If you do something in person, you do it yourself rather than letting someone else do it for you.
- domestic partner — either member of an unmarried, cohabiting, and especially homosexual couple that seeks benefits usually available only to spouses.
- domestic prelate — an honorary distinction conferred by the Holy See upon clergy, entitling them to some of the privileges of a bishop.
- drinking-up time — (in Britain) a short time allowed for finishing drinks before closing time in a public house
- drogue parachute — Also called drogue. a small parachute that deploys first in order to pull a larger parachute from its pack.
- dual personality — a disorder in which an individual possesses two dissociated personalities.
- duplex apartment — an apartment with rooms on two connected floors.
- duplicate bridge — a form of contract bridge used in tournaments in which contestants play the identical series of deals, with each deal being scored independently, permitting individual scores to be compared.
- earthly paradise — Bible: Garden of Eden
- easter sepulcher — sepulcher (def 2).
- easter-sepulcher — a tomb, grave, or burial place.
- eastern european — relating to, situated in or coming from Eastern Europe
- eastern whipbird — an Australian whipbird, Psophodes olivaceus
- ebony spleenwort — a fern, Asplenium platyneuron, of woody areas of North America, having ladderlike leaves and shiny, dark brown stems.
- ectoparasiticide — Any pesticide designed to kill parasites that live on the exterior of a host.
- educational park — a group of elementary and high schools, usually clustered in a parklike setting and having certain facilities shared by all grades, that often accommodates students from a large area.
- electrical power — electricity