17-letter words containing s, p, e, c, i, o
- self-incompatible — not capable of self-pollination.
- self-purification — a natural process of purifying, as the ability of a body of water to rid itself of pollutants.
- self-reproduction — the act or process of reproducing.
- semi-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- semi-monopolistic — a person who has a monopoly.
- semisophisticated — somewhat sophisticated.
- separation center — a place at which military personnel are processed for release from active service.
- shooting practice — practice in shooting for soldiers or other people who shoot guns
- shopping precinct — pedestrian area with shops
- shuttle diplomacy — diplomatic negotiations carried out by a mediator who travels back and forth between the negotiating parties.
- simple microscope — a microscope having a single lens.
- social enterprise — a business organization that works to benefit society as a whole
- spaghettification — the theoretical stretching of an object as it encounters extreme differences in gravitational forces, especially those associated with a black hole.
- speak one's piece — a separate or limited portion or quantity of something: a piece of land; a piece of chocolate.
- 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.
- special schooling — the system of educating children with special needs in schools designed to meet their needs
- 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.
- spectrohelioscope — a spectroheliograph.
- spectromicroscope — a microscope with an attached spectroscope.
- 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 disorder — any of a group of disorders each having symptoms that occur on a continuum and certain features that are shared along its spectrum but that manifest in markedly different forms and degrees. See also autism spectrum disorder.
- speech correction — the reeducation of speech habits that deviate from accepted speech standards.
- speed restriction — the maximum speed allowed for road vehicles, trains, or other vehicles
- spherical polygon — a closed figure formed by arcs of great circles on a spherical surface.
- spit in the ocean — a variety of poker in which four cards are dealt face down to each player and one card, forming the fifth for all hands, is dealt face up in the center of the table, the exposed card and others of its denomination being wild cards.
- sports facilities — places and things for doing sports
- spring cankerworm — the striped, green caterpillar of any of several geometrid moths: a foliage pest of various fruit and shade trees, as Paleacrita vernata (spring cankerworm) and Alsophila pometaria (fall cankerworm)
- stand-up comedian — performer: tells jokes
- steamship company — a company which has a fleet of steamships
- stenothermophilic — growing best within a narrow temperature range.
- stereospecificity — (of a reaction) producing a simple stereoisomer.
- storm in a teacup — a violent fuss or disturbance over a trivial matter
- subscription rate — the price charged for a subscription
- suction lipectomy — the removal of fatty tissue by making a small incision in the skin, loosening the fat layer, and withdrawing it by suction.
- superaerodynamics — the branch of aerodynamics that deals with gases at very low densities.
- supercolumniation — the placing of one order of columns above another.
- superconductivity — the phenomenon of almost perfect conductivity shown by certain substances at temperatures approaching absolute zero. The recent discovery of materials that are superconductive at temperatures hundreds of degrees above absolute zero raises the possibility of revolutionary developments in the production and transmission of electrical energy.
- support mechanism — any formal system or method of providing support or assistance
- synthetic phonics — a method of teaching people to read by training them to pronounce sounds associated with particular letters in isolation and then blend them together
- tactile corpuscle — an oval sense organ made of flattened cells and encapsulated nerve endings, occurring in hairless skin, as the tips of the fingers and toes, and functioning as a touch receptor.
- teaching hospital — a hospital associated with a medical college and offering clinical and other facilities to those in various areas of medical study, as students, interns, and residents.
- technical support — an advising and troubleshooting service provided by a manufacturer, typically a software or hardware developer, to its customers, often online or on the telephone.
- telephone service — a company or public utility that provides a telephone-operating service
- telescopic damper — a device with telescopic parts that reduce vibration in a motor vehicle
- the plot thickens — People sometimes say 'the plot thickens' when a situation or series of events is getting more and more complicated and mysterious.
- the south pacific — the part of the Pacific Ocean to the south of the equator
- top-security wing — a wing of a prison, mental hospital, etc that has a very high level of precautions against escape