12-letter words containing s, e, t, p, o
- plecopterous — relating to the order Plecoptera or stoneflies
- pleiotropism — the condition of a gene affecting more than one characteristic of the phenotype
- plotlessness — the state of being plotless
- pneumatocyst — the cavity of a pneumatophore.
- pneumocystis — any protozoan of the genus Pneumocystis, esp P. carinii, which is a cause of pneumonia in people whose immune defences have been lowered by drugs or a disease
- pocket mouse — any of numerous burrowing rodents, especially of the genus Perognathus, chiefly inhabiting arid regions of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, having fur-lined cheek pouches and a long tail.
- pocket-sized — If you describe something as pocket-sized, you approve of it because it is small enough to fit in your pocket.
- poetastering — the profession of being a poetaster
- poeticalness — the characteristic of being poetical
- point source — a source of radiation sufficiently distant compared to its length and width that it can be considered as a point.
- point spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- point system — Printing. a system for grading the sizes of type bodies, leads, etc., that employs the point as a unit of measurement. Compare point (def 48a).
- point-spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- police state — a nation in which the police, especially a secret police, summarily suppresses any social, economic, or political act that conflicts with governmental policy.
- poliorcetics — the science of siegecraft
- polish wheat — a wheat, Triticum polonicum, grown chiefly in S Europe, N Africa, and Turkestan.
- politicaster — an ill-suited or disliked politician
- pollutedness — the state of being polluted
- polycentrism — the doctrine that a plurality of independent centers of leadership, power, or ideology may exist within a single political system, especially Communism.
- polychaetous — of or relating to the genus Polychaeta
- polyneuritis — inflammation of several nerves at the same time; multiple neuritis.
- polyoestrous — polyestrous.
- polypetalous — having a corolla of separate petals.
- polysyndeton — the use of a number of conjunctions in close succession.
- polytheistic — pertaining to, characterized by, or adhering to polytheism, the doctrine that there is more than one god or many gods: Science thrived in the polytheistic culture of ancient Greece.
- pontificates — the office or term of office of a pontiff.
- poodle skirt — 1950s-style woman's circular skirt
- port angeles — a city in NW Washington, on the Juan de Fuca Strait.
- port chester — a city in SE New York, on Long Island Sound.
- port de bras — (used with a singular verb) the technique of moving the arms properly.
- port moresby — an independent republic in the W Pacific Ocean, comprising the E part of New Guinea and numerous near-lying islands, including the Bismarck Archipelago, the Admiralty Islands, the Trobriand Islands, and Bougainville and Buka in the Solomon Islands: a former Australian Trusteeship Territory; independent since 1975; member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 178,260 sq. mi. (461,693 sq. km). Capital: Port Moresby.
- portentously — of the nature of a portent; momentous.
- positive ion — an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons, as a cation (positive ion) which is created by electron loss and is attracted to the cathode in electrolysis, or as an anion (negative ion) which is created by an electron gain and is attracted to the anode. The valence of an ion is equal to the number of electrons lost or gained and is indicated by a plus sign for cations and a minus sign for anions, thus: Na + , Cl−, Ca ++ , S = .
- positive law — customary law or law enacted by governmental authority (as distinguished from natural law).
- positiveness — explicitly stated, stipulated, or expressed: a positive acceptance of the agreement.
- positivities — the state or character of being positive: a positivity that accepts the world as it is.
- post-harvest — Also, harvesting. the gathering of crops.
- post-it note — a small square of sticky paper on which notes can be written
- post-nuclear — pertaining to or involving atomic weapons: nuclear war.
- post-puberty — the period or age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction of offspring: in common law, presumed to be 14 years in the male and 12 years in the female.
- post-tussive — of or relating to a cough.
- post-weaning — to accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than its mother's milk; cause to lose the need to suckle or turn to the mother for food.
- postaccident — occurring after an accident
- postage paid — stamped ready for mailing
- postal meter — a postal franking machine
- postal order — money order.
- postcardlike — (of a scene) resembling a postcard
- postcardware — Shareware that borders on freeware, in that the author requests only that satisfied users send a postcard of their home town or something. (This practice, silly as it might seem, serves to remind users that they are otherwise getting something for nothing, and may also be psychologically related to real estate "sales" in which $1 changes hands just to keep the transaction from being a gift.)
- postconquest — of, relating to, or characteristic of a period of time after a conquest, esp with regard to the period after the Norman Conquest
- postconsumer — noting or pertaining to a product after it has been used and recycled: a chair made of postconsumer plastic.