16-letter words containing s, i, m, u
- demutualizations — Plural form of demutualization.
- dimension lumber — building lumber cut to standard or specified sizes.
- dimethyl sulfate — a colorless or yellow, slightly water-soluble, poisonous liquid, (CH 3) 2 SO 2 , used chiefly in organic synthesis.
- dinosaurs mating — (humour) The activity said to occur when yet another big iron merger or buy-out occurs; reflects a perception by hackers that these signal another stage in the long, slow dying of the mainframe industry. Also described as "elephants mating": lots of noise and action at a high level, with an eventual outcome in the somewhat distant future. In its glory days of the 1960s, it was "IBM and the Seven Dwarves": Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. Early on, RCA sold out to Univac and GE also sold out, and it was "IBM and the BUNCH" (an acronym for Burroughs, Univac, NCR, Control Data, and Honeywell) for a while. Honeywell was bought out by Bull. Univac in turn merged with Sperry to form Sperry/Univac, which was later merged (although the employees of Sperry called it a hostile takeover) with Burroughs to form Unisys in 1986 (this was when the phrase "dinosaurs mating" was coined). In 1991 AT&T absorbed NCR, only to spit it out again in 1996. Unisys bought Convergent Technologies in 1988 and later others. More such earth-shaking unions of doomed giants seem inevitable.
- discombobulating — Present participle of discombobulate.
- discombobulation — to confuse or disconcert; upset; frustrate: The speaker was completely discombobulated by the hecklers.
- distance modulus — a measure of the distance, r, of a celestial object too far away to show measurable parallax. It is given by m–M = 5 log(r/10), where m is its apparent magnitude (corrected for interstellar absorption) and M is its absolute magnitude
- distinguishments — to mark off as different (often followed by from or by): He was distinguished from the other boys by his height.
- distributed term — a term applying equally to every member of the class it designates, as doctors in no doctors are overworked
- dominus vobiscum — the Lord be with you.
- drumhead service — a religious service attended by members of a military unit while in the field
- duchess of malfi — a tragedy (1614?) by John Webster.
- duplessis-mornay — Philippe [fee-leep] /fiˈlip/ (Show IPA), Mornay, Philippe de.
- east gwillimbury — a town in S Ontario, in S Canada.
- easter communion — the act of receiving communion in church on Easter Day - considered special because of the primacy of Easter among Christian festivals and because many people regard taking Easter communion as a basic token of membership of their church
- elburz mountains — a mountain range in N Iran, parallel to the SW and S shores of the Caspian Sea. Highest peak: Mount Demavend, 5671 m (18 606 ft)
- electronic music — music: synthesized
- embourgeoisement — (chiefly UK) The taking-up of middle-class attitudes or values; bourgeoisification; the process of becoming affluent.
- exemption clause — a clause in a contract that exempts one party from liability for something
- exhaust manifold — An exhaust manifold is a heat-resistant tube that connects an engine to an exhaust pipe.
- family of curves — a collection of curves whose equations differ only by values assigned a parameter or parameters.
- feminine caesura — a caesura occurring immediately after an unstressed or short syllable.
- first-time buyer — someone who is buying his or her first house
- flight simulator — a device used in pilot and crew training that provides a cockpit environment and sensations of flight under actual conditions.
- four-dimensional — of a space having points, or a set having elements, which require four coordinates for their unique determination.
- four-masted brig — jackass bark (def 2).
- fourth dimension — Physics, Mathematics. a dimension in addition to length, width, and depth, used so as to be able to employ geometrical language in discussing phenomena that depend on four variables: Time is considered a fourth dimension for locating points in space-time.
- fuel consumption — use of a material to generate power
- fullness of time — the proper or destined time.
- fundamentalistic — Fundamentalist.
- gallium arsenide — a crystalline and highly toxic semiconductor, GaAs, used in light-emitting diodes, lasers, and electronic devices.
- garlic mushrooms — mushrooms, often pan-fried, cooked with garlic
- gaudeamus igitur — let us therefore rejoice
- giuseppe mazzini — Giuseppe [joo-zep-pe] /dʒuˈzɛp pɛ/ (Show IPA), 1805–72, Italian patriot and revolutionary.
- gossip columnist — a person who writes a gossip column
- government issue — (often initial capital letter) issued or supplied by the government or one of its agencies.
- gross misconduct — a proven crime in connection with employment that is serious enough to require dismissal
- hamstring injury — an instance of physical damage to a person's hamstring
- haussmannization — Georges Eugène [zhawrzh œ-zhen] /ʒɔrʒ œˈʒɛn/ (Show IPA), Baron, 1809–91, French administrator who improved the landscaping, street designs, and utilities systems of Paris.
- heir presumptive — a person who is expected to be the heir but whose expectations may be canceled by the birth of a nearer heir.
- hemotherapeutics — hemotherapy.
- housemaid's knee — inflammation of the bursa over the front of the kneecap.
- humanly possible — feasible, practical
- husayn ali mirza — 1817–92, Persian religious leader: founder of Bahāʾī.
- hyperinsulinemia — (medicine) The condition of having an excessively high level of insulin in the blood, usually due to excess production.
- hyperinsulinemic — Suffering from or characterized by hyperinsulinemia, an excessively high level of insulin in the blood.
- hypermasculinity — pertaining to or characteristic of a man or men: masculine attire.
- hyperpituitarism — overactivity of the pituitary gland.
- hyperstimulation — to rouse to action or effort, as by encouragement or pressure; spur on; incite: to stimulate his interest in mathematics.
- ice-cream supper — an ice-cream social held in the late afternoon or early evening.