19-letter words containing s, e, p, a, r, t
- parallactic ellipse — the apparent ellipse, as seen against the background of more distant stars, described annually by a nearby star because of the earth's orbital motion around the sun. Compare parallax (def 2).
- parasympathomimetic — having an effect similar to that produced when the parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated
- particle dispersoid — A particle dispersoid is a suspension of solid particles in a gas.
- particle kinematics — Particle kinematics is the study of the movement of particles, without considering the forces that cause this movement.
- particle separation — a rule that moves the particle of a phrasal verb, thus deriving a sentence like He looked the answer up from a structure that also underlies He looked up the answer
- parting of the ways — When there is a parting of the ways, two or more people or groups of people stop working together or travelling together.
- pastoral counseling — the use of psychotherapeutic techniques by trained members of the clergy to assist parishioners who seek help for personal or emotional problems.
- pedestrian crossing — place to cross road
- pedestrian precinct — A pedestrian precinct is a street or part of a town where vehicles are not allowed.
- penecontemporaneous — formed during or shortly after the formation of the containing rock stratum: penecontemporaneous minerals.
- performance targets — the expected or predicted success level of an individual, company or organization
- periodontal disease — any of various mixed bacterial infections that affect the soft tissues and bones supporting the teeth.
- peritoneal dialysis — a form of dialysis in which the peritoneum is used as an autogenous semipermeable membrane
- permanent secretary — the senior civil servant responsible for running a government ministry
- persian gulf states — group of Arab sheikdoms along the Persian Gulf: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, & United Arab Emirates
- personal stationery — headed notepaper
- personal watercraft — a jet-propelled boat ridden like a motorcycle.
- photodisintegration — the disintegration of a nucleus, induced by its absorption of a photon.
- photoreconnaissance — reconnaissance using aerial photography.
- physical impairment — A physical impairment is a condition in which a part of a person's body is damaged or is not working properly.
- piece de resistance — the principal dish of a meal.
- pirates of penzance — an operetta (1879) by Sir William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan.
- pistachio ice cream — ice cream flavoured with pistachios
- plastic deformation — In plastic deformation a material changes shape when a stress is applied to it and does not go back to its original state when the stress is removed.
- pneumogastric nerve — the vagus nerve.
- pointe-aux-trembles — a city in S Quebec, in E Canada, N of Montreal, on the St. Lawrence.
- police headquarters — building where police are stationed
- popular sovereignty — the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will.
- population pressure — the force exerted by a growing population upon its environment, resulting in dispersal or reduction of the population.
- portuguese-speaking — being a speaker of Portuguese; having Portuguese as the national language
- post-and-rail fence — a fence constructed of upright wooden posts with horizontal timber slotted through it
- posterior pituitary — a small, somewhat cherry-shaped double structure attached by a stalk to the base of the brain and constituting the master endocrine gland affecting all hormonal functions in the body, consisting of an anterior region ((anterior pituitary) or (adenohypophysis)) that develops embryonically from the roof of the mouth and that secretes growth hormone, LH, FSH, ACTH, TSH, and MSH, a posterior region ((posterior pituitary) or (neurohypophysis)) that develops from the back of the forebrain and that secretes the hormones vasopressin and oxytocin, and an intermediate part (pars intermedia) derived from the anterior region but joined to the posterior region, that secretes the hormone MSH in lower vertebrates.
- potassium carbonate — a white, granular, water-soluble powder, K 2 CO 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of soap, glass, and potassium salts.
- potassium hydroxide — a white, deliquescent, water-soluble solid, KOH, usually in the form of lumps, sticks, or pellets, that upon solution in water generates heat: used chiefly in the manufacture of soap, as a laboratory reagent, and as a caustic.
- prairie rattlesnake — a rattlesnake, Crotalus viridis viridis, of the prairies of western North America.
- pre-order traversal — traversal
- prescription charge — a charge, set by the government, to be paid by a patient for medicines
- presentation skills — the set of techniques and skills required successfully to present oral information to others
- presumption of fact — a presumption based on experience or knowledge of the relationship between a known fact and a fact inferred from it.
- pretty as a picture — girl: sweetly attractive
- prime interest rate — prime rate.
- prismatic telescope — a telescope having an eyepiece at the side or top equipped with a reflecting prism, used for taking sights at steep angles.
- private first class — a soldier ranking above a private and below a corporal or specialist fourth class in the U.S. Army, and above a private and below a lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps.
- private prosecution — a prosecution started by a private individual rather than by the police
- 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
- professionalization — to give a professional character or status to; make into or establish as a profession.
- programmer's switch — (hardware) A button on the front of some Apple Macintosh computers which, when pressed, causes a command line prompt to appear. This gives access to the built-in mini-debugger, which has commands to dump memory, return to the application that was broken out, and others. A more sophisticated debugger must be installed in order to inspect breakpoints, etc.
- property speculator — a person who takes part in property speculation
- protease inhibitors — a drug that inhibits the action of protease, especially any of a class of antiviral drugs that prevent the cleavage and replication of HIV proteins.
- pseudo-aristocratic — of or relating to government by an aristocracy.