12-letter words containing p, u
- antisepalous — facing the sepals or calyx leaf
- antwerp blue — any of several iron-blue pigments, usually containing a considerable amount of extender.
- anuradhapura — a town in Sri Lanka: ancient capital of Ceylon; site of the sacred bo tree and place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. Pop: 53 151 (2001)
- apache plume — a low shrub, Fallugia paradoxa, of the rose family, of southwestern North America, having white flowers and fruit heads of feathery tufts.
- apfelstrudel — apple strudel
- apiculturist — beekeeping, especially on a commercial scale for the sale of honey.
- apocynaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Apocynaceae, a family of mostly tropical flowering plants with latex in their stems, including the dogbane, periwinkle, oleander, and some lianas
- appeal court — An appeal court is the same as a Court of Appeal.
- appendicular — relating to an appendage or appendicle
- applausively — in an applausive manner
- apple butter — a jam made from stewed spiced apples
- apple sucker — a small homopterous insect, Psyllia mali, originally of Europe, that is a serious pest of apple crops.
- appoggiatura — an ornament consisting of a nonharmonic note (short or long) preceding a harmonic one either before or on the stress
- appressorium — a flattened hypha of a parasitic fungus that penetrates the host tissues
- appurtenance — a secondary or less significant thing or part
- arc spectrum — a spectrum formed from the light produced by an electric arc, characteristic of the gas or vapor through which the arc passes.
- arch support — a rigid support placed inside a shoe so that its molded form fits the arch of the foot and relieves strain on the muscles of the foot while walking, standing, etc.
- archesporium — archespore.
- archipallium — (anatomy) The oldest region of the brain's pallium, often considered contiguous with the olfactory cortex, but varying among species. In humans, the archipallium makes up the hippocampus.
- armour plate — a tough heavy steel, usually containing chromium, nickel, and molybdenum and often hardened on the surface, used for protecting warships, tanks, etc
- army surplus — used or unused articles of military clothing, equipment, etc previously allocated to or intended for the use of army personnel but now sold off to members of the public
- arseno group — the bivalent group −As=As−.
- arsino group — the univalent group H 2 As−.
- as per usual — as usual
- ashurbanipal — died ?626 bc, king of Assyria (?668–?626): son of Esarhaddon. He built the magnificent palace and library at Nineveh
- assumptively — taken for granted.
- assurbanipal — Ashurbanipal
- at a premium — If something is at a premium, it is wanted or needed, but is difficult to get or achieve.
- atmospherium — an optical system used to simulate images of atmospheric phenomena, as cloud formations, storms, and day and night, on the inside of a dome.
- auspiciously — promising success; propitious; opportune; favorable: an auspicious occasion.
- australopith — (archaeology, anthropology, paleonotology) Of or pertaining to the extinct hominid primates, of the genus Australopithecus, from the Pleistocene period.
- autapomorphy — (cladistics) A derived trait that is unique to a particular taxon.
- autocomplete — a feature of a word processor, email program, web browser, etc., that automatically predicts the remaining characters in a word or phrase based on what has been typed or input before: If you supply the information, your browser will be able to use autocomplete to fill out online forms.
- autoexposure — A device that sets the exposure automatically on a camera or other piece of equipment.
- autographing — Present participle of autograph.
- autohypnosis — the process or result of self-induced hypnosis
- autohypnotic — Of or pertaining to autohypnosis; self-hypnotizing.
- automorphism — the practice of seeing others as having the same characteristics as oneself
- autoptically — in an autoptical manner
- bach trumpet — a modern small three-valved trumpet for playing clarino passages in Bach's music
- backpressure — a resistant pressure exerted by liquid or gas against the forward motion or flow of an exhaust or pipe system: Careful control of backpressure ensures an even supply of oil from the well.
- backup light — Backup lights are the white lights on the back of a vehicle that shine when the vehicle moves backward.
- bankruptcies — Plural form of bankruptcy.
- barbecue pit — a trench in which wood or charcoal is burned for barbecuing
- barge couple — either of a pair of outside rafters along the gable end of a roof
- base jumping — a sport in which a participant parachutes from any of a variety of fixed objects such as high buildings, cliffs, etc
- bathophilous — (of an organism) living in very deep water
- battle group — a group of warships usually consisting of at least one aircraft carrier, other surface ships, submarines, landing craft, etc
- bean sprouts — the sprouts of newly germinated mung beans, eaten as a vegetable, esp in Chinese dishes
- beat up (on) — to give a beating to; thrash