12-letter words containing s, p, e, d
- pasture land — grassland used for grazing
- peau de soie — a soft, satin-weave cloth of silk or rayon, grainy and having a dull luster, used to make dresses, coats, trimmings, etc.
- pebbledashed — covered with a finish for external walls consisting of small stones embedded in plaster
- peccadilloes — a very minor or slight sin or offense; a trifling fault.
- pedomorphism — a speeding up of the rate of development, resulting in an adult form that has the appearance of its larval or juvenile ancestor.
- pension fund — a fund created and maintained, as by a corporation, to provide benefits under a pension plan.
- pepys' diary — a diary kept by Samuel Pepys from January 1, 1660 to May 31, 1669, in which are recorded his impressions of contemporary London life, the life of the court, and the administration of the navy.
- perez galdos — Benito [buh-nee-toh;; Spanish be-nee-taw] /bəˈni toʊ;; Spanish bɛˈni tɔ/ (Show IPA), 1843–1920, Spanish journalist, dramatist, and novelist.
- perfidiously — deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful: a perfidious lover.
- pericarditis — inflammation of the pericardium.
- period costs — Period costs are general costs that cannot be associated with a particular product, such as utilities or insurance.
- periodontics — the branch of dentistry dealing with the study and treatment of diseases of the periodontium.
- periodontist — a specialist in periodontics.
- permissioned — authorization granted to do something; formal consent: to ask permission to leave the room.
- personalised — to have marked with one's initials, name, or monogram: to personalize stationery.
- personalized — customized
- petrodollars — Petrodollars are a unit of money used to calculate how much a country has earned by exporting petroleum or natural gas.
- petrozavodsk — a city in NW Russia, capital of the Karelian Autonomous Republic, on Lake Onega: developed around ironworks established by Peter the Great in 1703; university (1940). Pop: 265 000 (2005 est)
- pfund series — a series of lines in the infrared spectrum of hydrogen.
- phased array — a radar antenna consisting of an array of dipoles that are excited in or out of phase with each other to control beam direction and radiation pattern without moving the antenna. Compare dipole (def 3).
- pheidippides — the Athenian runner who secured aid from Sparta in the struggle between the Athenians and the Persians 490 b.c.
- philadelphus — (Philadelphus) king of Pergamum c159–138 b.c.
- philomelides — a king of Lesbos who wrestled and killed every opponent until he himself was defeated by Odysseus.
- phosphoreted — phosphureted.
- phosphureted — combined with phosphorus, especially in its lowest valence state.
- photo spread — a picture spread. See under spread (def 33).
- photo-stated — a camera for making facsimile copies of documents, drawings, etc., in the form of paper negatives on which the positions of lines, objects, etc., in the originals are maintained.
- picture desk — the department at a magazine or newspaper publisher, that deals with photographs for the paper or magazine
- picture disc — a phonograph record with a picture on the vinyl.
- pig islander — a New Zealander
- pink-slipped — (of an employee) given notice of redundancy
- plaid screen — [XEROX PARC] A "special effect" that occurs when certain kinds of memory smashes overwrite the control blocks or image memory of a bit-mapped display. The term "salt and pepper" may refer to a different pattern of similar origin. Though the term as coined at PARC refers to the result of an error, some of the X demos induce plaid-screen effects deliberately as a display hack.
- plasterboard — a material used for insulating or covering walls, or as a lath, consisting of paper-covered sheets of gypsum and felt.
- plattdeutsch — the Low German vernacular dialects spoken in northern Germany.
- pleased with — satisfied or content with
- pocket-sized — If you describe something as pocket-sized, you approve of it because it is small enough to fit in your pocket.
- 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-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.
- pollutedness — the state of being polluted
- polydisperse — of or noting a sol that contains particles of different sizes.
- polyhedrosis — an often fatal disease of certain insect larvae or decapod crustaceans, caused by viruses containing DNA.
- polysulphide — any sulphide of a metal containing divalent anions in which there are chains of sulphur atoms, as in the polysulphides of sodium, Na2S2, Na2S3, Na2S4, etc
- polysyndeton — the use of a number of conjunctions in close succession.
- poodle skirt — 1950s-style woman's circular skirt
- port de bras — (used with a singular verb) the technique of moving the arms properly.
- possessed by — spurred or moved by a strong feeling, madness, or a supernatural power (often followed by by, of, or with): The army fought as if possessed. The village believed her to be possessed of the devil.
- possessed of — having
- possessioned — having possessions
- postaccident — occurring after an accident
- postage paid — stamped ready for mailing