16-letter words containing r, e, p, i, o
- three-point turn — When the driver of a vehicle does a three-point turn, he or she turns the vehicle by driving forwards in a curve, then backwards in a curve, and then forwards in a curve.
- thrombocytopenia — an abnormal decrease in the number of blood platelets.
- thrombophlebitis — the presence of a thrombus in a vein accompanied by inflammation of the vessel wall.
- tightrope walker — performer who walks on high wire
- to bite your lip — If you bite your lip or your tongue, you stop yourself from saying something that you want to say, because it would be the wrong thing to say in the circumstances.
- to coin a phrase — You say 'to coin a phrase' to show that you realize you are making a pun or using a cliché.
- to dip your toes — If you dip your toes into something or dip your toes into the waters of something, you start doing that thing slowly and carefully, because you are not sure whether it will be successful or whether you will like it.
- to play for time — If you play for time, you try to make something happen more slowly, because you do not want it to happen or because you need time to think about what to do if it happens.
- to rest in peace — If you express the wish that a dead person may rest in peace, you are showing respect and sympathy for him or her. 'Rest in peace' or 'RIP' is also sometimes written on gravestones.
- top drive system — A top drive system is a system which includes a motor that turns the drill string, used instead of the kelly.
- topsail schooner — a sailing vessel fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts with square sails above the foresail, and often with a square sail before the foresail.
- torsion pendulum — a pendulum the weight of which is rotated alternately in opposite directions through a horizontal plane by the torsion of the suspending rod or spring: used for clocks intended to run a long time between windings.
- transpeptidation — the process of transferring an amino acid or group of amino acids from one compound to another.
- transport police — the national police force for railways in Britain, which protects rail operators, staff and passengers
- trap-door spider — any of several burrowing spiders, of the family Ctenizidae, that construct a tubular nest with a hinged lid.
- trapezoidal rule — a numerical method for evaluating the area between a curve and an axis by approximating the area with the areas of trapezoids.
- trial separation — an experimental period of living apart
- triple-expansion — noting a power source, especially a steam engine, using the same fluid at three successive stages of expansion to do work in three or more cylinders.
- tropic of cancer — Geography. either of two corresponding parallels of latitude on the terrestrial globe, one (tropic of Cancer) about 23½° N, and the other (tropic of Capricorn) about 23½° S of the equator, being the boundaries of the Torrid Zone. the tropics, the regions lying between and near these parallels of latitude; the Torrid Zone and neighboring regions.
- tropical cyclone — a cyclone that originates over a tropical ocean area and can develop into the destructive storm known in the U.S. as a hurricane, in the western Pacific region as a typhoon, and elsewhere by other names. Compare extratropical cyclone, hurricane (def 1), willy-willy.
- turn upside down — invert
- two-percent milk — Two-percent milk is milk from which some of the cream has been removed.
- uncinate process — a curved, bony process on certain ribs of birds that projects backward and overlaps the succeeding rib, serving to strengthen the thorax.
- uncomprehensible — capable of being comprehended or understood; intelligible.
- underconsumption — the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.
- unimpressionable — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- unimproved value — the valuation of land for rating purposes, disregarding the value of buildings or other development
- union membership — members of a trade union
- united provinces — (used with a singular or plural verb) former name of Uttar Pradesh.
- unpublished work — a literary work that has not been reproduced for sale or publicly distributed.
- unresponsiveness — responding especially readily and sympathetically to appeals, efforts, influences, etc.: a responsive government.
- upsilon particle — the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet (Υ, υ).
- vapor channeling — Vapor channeling exists when vapor flow is distributed in an unequal way in a distillation vessel or stage.
- ventriculography — radiography of the ventricles of the heart after injection of a contrast medium
- verneuil process — a process for making synthetic rubies, sapphires, spinels, etc., by the fusion at high temperatures of powdered compounds.
- videodisc player — an electronic device for playing videodiscs through a television set.
- vinylidene group — the bivalent group C 2 H 2 , derived from ethylene.
- vinylpyrrolidone — Vinylpyrrolidone is a substance used as a binder in pharmaceuticals.
- voice production — the use of the voice in order to create particular effects
- walk a tightrope — be in a precarious position
- white propaganda — propaganda that comes from the source it claims to come from
- wimp environment — WIMP
- work-in-progress — In book-keeping, work-in-progress refers to the monetary value of work that has not yet been paid for because it has not yet been completed.
- world exposition — world's fair.
- writ of subpoena — a legal document commanding the attendance in court, as a witness, of the person on whom it is served, under a penalty
- yellow pikeperch — the walleye, Stizostedion vitreum.
- yellow pimpernel — Lysimachia nemorum
- zero-zero option — (in international nuclear arms negotiations) an offer to remove all intermediate-range nuclear missiles, if the other side will do the same