21-letter words containing s, n, u
- scarlet runner (bean) — a climbing bean plant (Phaseolus coccineus) of tropical America, having pods with large, edible, red-and-black seeds and usually having scarlet flowers: often grown in cold climates as an ornamental
- school superintendent — an official whose job is to oversee school administration within a district
- scintillation counter — a device for detecting and measuring radioactivity, having a crystal scintillator, a photoelectric cell sensitive to the light from scintillations, and an amplifier.
- sedimentary sequences — Sedimentary sequences are layers of rock which are derived from weathered rocks, biogenic (= of living organisms) activity, or precipitation from solution.
- sequoia national park — a national park in central California: giant sequoia trees. 604 sq. mi. (1565 sq. km).
- seventeen-year locust — a cicada, Magicicada septendecim, of the eastern U.S., having nymphs that live in the soil, usually emerging in great numbers after 17 years in the North or 13 years in the South.
- shams ud-din mohammed — (Shams ud-din Mohammed) c1320–89? Persian poet.
- she stoops to conquer — a comedy (1773) by Oliver Goldsmith.
- sherman antitrust act — an act of Congress (1890) prohibiting any contract, conspiracy, or combination of business interests in restraint of foreign or interstate trade.
- shoot off one's mouth — to hit, wound, damage, kill, or destroy with a missile discharged from a weapon.
- shoot one's mouth off — to talk indiscreetly
- short circuit current — A short circuit current is an overcurrent resulting from a short circuit.
- shut-in pressure test — A shut-in pressure test is a pressure test which is carried out after the well has been closed off for a particular time.
- silicon tetrafluoride — a colorless, fuming gas, SiF 4 , used chiefly in the manufacture of fluosilicic acid.
- simple actor language — (language) (SAL) A minimal actor language, used for teaching in:
- sing a different tune — a succession of musical sounds forming an air or melody, with or without the harmony accompanying it.
- sing for one's supper — to obtain something by performing a service
- single spanish burton — a tackle having a runner as well as the fall supporting the load, giving a mechanical advantage of three, neglecting friction.
- sinusoidal projection — an equal-area projection in which parallels are straight lines spaced at regular intervals, the central meridian is a straight line one-half the length of the equator, and the other meridians are curves symmetrical to the central meridian.
- snr bandwidth product — (communications) The integral of the SNR over frequency. The SNR bandwidth product is an important limit in the capacity of a communication channel.
- social inquiry report — (in Britain) a report on a person and his or her circumstances, which may be required by a court before sentencing and is made by a probation officer or a social worker from a local authority social services department
- someone's name is mud — someone is disgraced
- someone's strong suit — a person's greatest talent, most conspicuous character trait, etc.
- south pacific current — an ocean current that flows E in the South Pacific Ocean parallel to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
- sovereign wealth fund — an investment fund created using the financial assets of a national government
- spin angular momentum — to make (yarn) by drawing out, twisting, and winding fibers: Pioneer women spun yarn on spinning wheels.
- spirits of turpentine — oil of turpentine.
- statutory corporation — a company or other body set up by statute
- statutory declaration — a declaration made under statutory authority before a justice of the peace or commissioner for oaths which may in certain cases be substituted for a statement on oath
- steady state universe — a universe described by the steady state theory.
- stop loss reinsurance — Stop loss reinsurance is a form of reinsurance under which the reinsurer pays the cedant's losses in any year over a particular percentage of the earned premium.
- student participation — the extent to which students participate or involve themselves in a class, course, etc
- subjective complement — subject complement.
- subliminal perception — perception of or reaction to a stimulus that occurs without awareness or consciousness
- submerged arc welding — a type of heavy electric-arc welding using mechanically fed bare wire with the arc submerged in powdered flux to keep out oxygen
- subsistence allowance — money given in advance to a new soldier, employee, etc., to buy food, clothing, and pay for other necessities while awaiting a first pay.
- substitution instance — an expression so derived from another
- substitution reaction — the replacement of an atom or group of atoms in a compound by another atom or group.
- suction and curettage — a technique involving extraction of the fetus through a suction tube, used to perform abortions during the early stages of pregnancy.
- sun protection factor — SPF.
- sunday school teacher — someone who teaches at a Sunday school
- supergranulation cell — one of a number of large convection cells in the photosphere and chromosphere of the sun, each having a diameter of 10,000–20,000 miles (16,000–32,000 km) and lasting longer than a day.
- supplementary benefit — (formerly) an extra amount of money that is paid to someone by the government, in addition to their normal income. Replaced by income support in 1988
- supply-side economics — a school of economic thought that emphasizes the importance to a strong economy of policies that remove impediments to supply
- surface friction drag — the part of the drag on a body moving through a fluid that is dependent on the nature of the surface of the body
- surface of projection — the surface upon which an image or a set of points is projected.
- surface of revolution — a surface formed by revolving a plane curve about a given line.
- surface-to-underwater — (of a missile, message, etc.) traveling from the surface of the earth to a target underwater.
- symphonie fantastique — a programmatic symphony (1830–31) in five movements by Hector Berlioz.
- synchronous converter — a synchronous machine for converting alternating current to direct current, or vice versa, in which the armature winding is connected to collector rings and to a commutator.