16-letter words containing s, p, e, k
- poverty-stricken — suffering from poverty; extremely poor: poverty-stricken refugees.
- preference stock — preferred stock.
- pressure flaking — a method of manufacturing a flint tool by pressing flakes from a stone core with a pointed implement, usually of wood tipped with antler or copper.
- proboscis monkey — a reddish, arboreal monkey, Nasalis larvatus, of Borneo, the male of which has a long, flexible nose: an endangered species.
- put the skids to — to thwart or cause to fail
- river carpsucker — a carpsucker, Carpiodes carpio, found in silty rivers of the central U.S. south to Mexico.
- sailmaker's palm — palm1 (def 4).
- san antonio peak — a mountain in S California: highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains, near San Bernardino. 10,080 feet (3072 meters).
- shark repellents — any tactic used by a corporation to prevent a takeover by a corporate raider.
- sharpe's grysbok — either of two small, usually solitary antelopes of southern Africa, Raphicerus melanotis, or R. sharpei (Sharpe's grysbok) having a light to dark reddish-brown coat speckled with white.
- sheepskin jacket — a short jacket made of the skin of a sheep with the wool still attached to it
- shepherd's check — a pattern of even checks, used in a variety of fabrics.
- shepherd's crook — hooked or curved stick
- shoemaker's shop — a shop where shoes are repaired, or made
- slap on the back — to congratulate
- sleep like a top — a toy, often inversely conical, with a point on which it is made to spin.
- sleep-wake cycle — Physiology. the species-specific biological pattern of alternating sleep and wakefulness, in humans roughly 8 hours of nocturnal sleep and 16 hours of daytime activity.
- smack one's lips — If you smack your lips, you open and close your mouth noisily, especially before or after eating, to show that you are eager to eat or enjoyed eating.
- smokeless powder — any of various substitutes for ordinary gunpowder that give off little or no smoke, especially one composed wholly or mostly of guncotton.
- software package — bundle of files to execute computer program
- spanish mackerel — an American game fish, Scomberomorus maculatus, inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean.
- sparking voltage — the minimum voltage required to produce a spark across a given spark gap.
- speak for itself — be self-evident
- speak in tongues — to engage in glossolalia
- speak one's mind — give one's frank opinion
- speaking trumpet — a trumpet-shaped instrument used to carry the voice a great distance or held to the ear by a deaf person to aid his hearing
- speed networking — the practice of trying to form business connections and contacts through meetings at which individuals are given the opportunity to have several conversations of limited duration with strangers
- spelling mistake — error in writing a word
- spotted mackerel — a small mackerel, Scomberomorus queenslandicus, of northern Australian waters
- spotted redshank — a sandpiper, Tringa erythropus, which is a large wader with red legs
- spring snowflake — a European amaryllidaceous plant, Leucojum vernum, with white nodding bell-shaped flowers
- sprinkler system — apparatus for automatically extinguishing fires in a building, consisting of a system of water pipes in or below the ceilings, with valves or sprinklers usually made to open automatically at a certain temperature.
- stalked puffball — a puffball-like mushroom of the genus Tulestoma, maturing in early winter.
- sticking plaster — an adhesive cloth or other material for covering and closing superficial wounds, holding bandages in place, etc.
- take by surprise — to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me.
- take one's lumps — a piece or mass of solid matter without regular shape or of no particular shape: a lump of coal.
- take one's place — to take up one's usual or specified position
- theatre workshop — a theatre company that is noted for the unconventional theatrical performances it puts on, especially with reference to a company based in the East End of London from 1953 to 1973 that was founded in 1945 by Joan Littlewood
- to keep a secret — If you say that someone can keep a secret, you mean that they can be trusted not to tell other people a secret that you have told them.
- to pass the buck — If you pass the buck, you refuse to accept responsibility for something, and say that someone else is responsible.
- to speak volumes — If something such as an action speaks volumes about a person or thing, it gives you a lot of information about them.
- unpublished work — a literary work that has not been reproduced for sale or publicly distributed.
- up to one's neck — If you say that someone is in some sort of trouble or criminal activity up to their neck, you mean that they are deeply involved in it.
- upside-down cake — a cake that is baked on a layer of fruit, then turned before serving so that the fruit is on top.
- vest-pocket park — pocket park.
- work-in-progress — In book-keeping, work-in-progress refers to the monetary value of work that has not yet been paid for because it has not yet been completed.