17-letter words containing s, e, p, t, a
- self-presentation — an act of presenting.
- self-preservation — preservation of oneself from harm or destruction.
- self-purification — a natural process of purifying, as the ability of a body of water to rid itself of pollutants.
- semi-experimental — pertaining to, derived from, or founded on experiment: an experimental science.
- semi-permeability — permeable only to certain small molecules: a semipermeable membrane.
- semisophisticated — somewhat sophisticated.
- separating funnel — a large funnel having a tap in its output tube, used to separate immiscible liquids
- separation center — a place at which military personnel are processed for release from active service.
- separation energy — binding energy (def 1).
- september weather — weather characteristic of the month of September, esp in being unpredictable as summer is ending and autumn is beginning
- septicemic plague — an especially dangerous form of plague in which the infecting organisms invade the bloodstream. Compare plague (def 2).
- set on a pedestal — an architectural support for a column, statue, vase, or the like.
- set one's cap for — a close-fitting covering for the head, usually of soft supple material and having no visor or brim.
- shetland pullover — a thick woollen sweater made from Shetland wool
- shetland sheepdog — one of a breed of small sheepdogs resembling a miniature collie, raised originally in the Shetland Islands.
- shipping articles — articles of agreement.
- shooting practice — practice in shooting for soldiers or other people who shoot guns
- shuttle diplomacy — diplomatic negotiations carried out by a mediator who travels back and forth between the negotiating parties.
- slap on the wrist — a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
- sleep deprivation — a condition in which you have not had enough sleep
- sleeping quarters — the rooms where people sleep in a large building or complex or on a boat etc
- social enterprise — a business organization that works to benefit society as a whole
- sodium propionate — a transparent, crystalline, water-soluble powder, C 3 H 5 NaO 2 , used in foodstuffs to prevent mold growth, and in medicine as a fungicide.
- sodium pyroborate — borax1 .
- software platform — a major piece of software, as an operating system, an operating environment, or a database, under which various smaller application programs can be designed to run.
- sound spectrogram — a graphic representation, produced by a sound spectrograph, of the frequency, intensity, duration, and variation with time of the resonance of a sound or series of sounds.
- south sea company — a British joint stock company that traded in South America in the 18th century. The South Sea Company took over the national debt in return for a monopoly of trade with the South Seas, causing feverish speculation in their stocks, and a financial crash in 1720 (the South Sea Bubble)
- southampton water — an inlet of the English Channel in S England
- southern sporades — a group of Greek islands in the Aegean, including the Dodecanese, lying off the SW coast of Turkey
- spaghetti western — a low-budget western movie shot in Italy or Spain, usually with Italian actors and an American star.
- spaghettification — the theoretical stretching of an object as it encounters extreme differences in gravitational forces, especially those associated with a black hole.
- span of attention — attention span.
- sparc xterminal 1 — (computer) Sun's lowest cost networked Unix desktop, it is board-upgradeable to a SPARC 4. It comes with a choice of frame buffers: 8-bit colour, Turbo GX, or Turbo GX plus. This product was expected to replace the SPARCclassic X. UK availability was planned for March 1995.
- spark transmitter — a transmitting set that generates electromagnetic waves by the oscillatory discharge from a capacitor through an inductor and a spark gap.
- spatial frequency — the measure of fine detail in an optical image in terms of cycles per millimetre
- special committee — a committee, as of a legislative body, that is formed to examine and report on a specific bill or issue.
- special constable — a person recruited for temporary or occasional police duties, esp in time of emergency
- special education — education that is modified or particularized for those with singular needs, as disabled or maladjusted people, slow learners, or gifted children.
- spectroheliograph — an apparatus for making photographs of the sun with a monochromatic light to show the details of the sun's surface and surroundings as they would appear if the sun emitted only that light.
- spectroradiometer — an instrument for determining the radiant-energy distribution in a spectrum, combining the functions of a spectroscope with those of a radiometer.
- spectroscopically — an optical device for producing and observing a spectrum of light or radiation from any source, consisting essentially of a slit through which the radiation passes, a collimating lens, and an Amici prism.
- spectrum analyser — an instrument that splits an input waveform into its frequency components, which are then displayed
- spectrum analysis — the determination of the constitution or condition of bodies and substances by means of the spectra they produce.
- spenserian sonnet — a sonnet employing the rhyme scheme abab, bcbc, cdcd, ee.
- spenserian stanza — the stanza used by Spenser in his Faerie Queene and employed since by other poets, consisting of eight iambic pentameter lines and a final Alexandrine, with a rhyme scheme of ababbcbcc.
- sperrin mountains — a mountain range in NW Northern Ireland
- spinal anesthesia — interruption of conduction of nerve impulses by the injection of an anesthetic into the spinal canal that reduces sensitivity to pain without loss of consciousness.
- spinal meningitis — infection of spinal membrane
- spiritual bouquet — the spiritual presentation of a good work to another person.
- spiritual healing — faith healing