19-letter words containing p, u, t, r, e
- privatization issue — an issue of shares available for purchase by members of the public when a publicly owned organization is transferred to the private sector
- property speculator — a person who takes part in property speculation
- proto-indo-european — the unattested prehistoric parent language of the Indo-European languages; Indo-European.
- pseudo-aristocratic — of or relating to government by an aristocracy.
- pseudo-conservative — disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
- pseudo-experimental — pertaining to, derived from, or founded on experiment: an experimental science.
- pseudo-intransitive — denoting an occurrence of a normally transitive verb in which a direct object is not explicitly stated or forms the subject of the sentence, as in Margaret is cooking or these apples cook well
- pseudohermaphrodite — an individual having internal reproductive organs of one sex and external sexual characteristics resembling those of the other sex or being ambiguous in nature. Compare hermaphrodite (def 1).
- public-interest law — a branch of law that often utilizes class-action suits to protect the interest of a large group or of the public at large, as in matters relating to racial discrimination, air pollution, etc.
- puncture repair kit — set of tools for patching a bicycle tyre
- purse-string suture — a suture for a circular opening, stitched around the edge, that closes it when pulled.
- put a figure on sth — When you put a figure on an amount, you say exactly how much it is.
- put one's finger on — any of the terminal members of the hand, especially one other than the thumb.
- put the skids under — a plank, bar, log, or the like, especially one of a pair, on which something heavy may be slid or rolled along.
- put up the shutters — to close business at the end of the day or permanently
- quartermaster corps — the branch of the U.S. Army responsible for supplying food, clothing, fuel, and equipment and for the operation of commissaries, laundries, etc.
- radiopharmaceutical — any of a number of radioactive drugs used diagnostically or therapeutically.
- rap on the knuckles — a mild reprimand or light sentence
- rapture of the deep — nitrogen narcosis.
- reactor temperature — The reactor temperature is the temperature at various stages in a reactor in an FCC unit.
- reciprocity failure — a failure of the two exposure variables, light intensity and exposure time, to behave in a reciprocal fashion at very high or very low values
- reconceptualization — to form into a concept; make a concept of.
- recording equipment — devices used for sound reproduction
- reduction potential — (in a galvanic cell) the potential of the electrode at which reduction occurs.
- reflux oesophagitis — inflammation of the gullet caused by regurgitation of stomach acids, producing heartburn: may be associated with a hiatus hernia
- republic of letters — the collective body of literary people.
- republic of vietnam — the name (from 1955–75) for South Vietnam, as an independent republic, following the division of the country in 1954 into North Vietnam and South Vietnam
- reserved occupation — in time of war, an occupation from which one will not be called up for military service
- respiratory failure — a condition in which the respiratory system is unable to provide an adequate supply of oxygen or to remove carbon dioxide efficiently
- resplendent quetzal — See under quetzal (def 1).
- revenue expenditure — the amount of money spent by a business or organisation on general operating costs such as rent, insurance, heating, maintenance etc
- ring up the curtain — to begin a theatrical performance
- room-temperature iq — (abuse) (IBM) 80 or below. Used in describing the expected intelligence range of the luser. "Well, but how's this interface going to play with the room-temperature IQ crowd?" This is a much more insulting phrase in countries that use Celsius thermometers. See drool-proof paper.
- sb's spiritual home — your spiritual home is the place where you feel that you belong, usually because your ideas or attitudes are the same as those of the people who live there
- setting-up exercise — any of a set of exercises, as deep knee bends and push-ups, for improving one's posture, muscle tone, or limberness, or for reducing one's weight.
- sexual reproduction — reproduction involving the union of gametes.
- sexual stereotyping — the formation or promotion of a fixed general idea or image of how men and women will behave
- sharp-tailed grouse — a grouse, Pedioecetes phasianellus, of prairies and open forests of western North America, similar in size to the prairie chicken but with a more pointed tail.
- slugging percentage — a number expressing a player's average effectiveness in making extra-base hits, calculated by dividing the total number of bases (from all singles, doubles, triples, and home runs) by the number of official at bats
- sodium hypochlorite — a pale-green, crystalline compound, NaOCl, unstable in air, soluble in cold water, decomposes in hot water: used as a bleaching agent for paper and textiles, in water purification, in household use, and as a fungicide.
- southern crab apple — a tree, Malus angustifolia, of the eastern U.S., having oblong leaves, fragrant, pink or rose-colored flowers, and small, round, yellow-green fruit.
- southern hemisphere — the half of the earth between the South Pole and the equator.
- spare a thought for — If you spare a thought for an unfortunate person, you make an effort to think sympathetically about them and their bad luck.
- specular reflection — Specular reflection is reflection of heat or light in which the angles of different parts of the surface are important.
- spider-hunting wasp — any solitary wasp of the superfamily Pompiloidea, having a slender elongated body: the fast-running female hunts spiders as a food store for her larvae
- spin quantum number — the quantum number that designates the total angular momentum associated with electron spin and has a value of ½ in units of h /2π.
- stationery cupboard — a cupboard where things like paper, pens and paper clips are kept
- step-up transformer — a device that transfers an alternating current from one circuit to one or more other circuits with an increase of voltage
- strict counterpoint — the application of the rules of counterpoint as an academic exercise
- subnuclear particle — any of the elementary particles, including those that do not exist in stable matter but appear as a result of high-energy collisions of other particles or nuclei.