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16-letter words containing s, p, i, n, m

  • operating system — (operating system)   (OS) The low-level software which handles the interface to peripheral hardware, schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the user when no application program is running. The OS may be split into a kernel which is always present and various system programs which use facilities provided by the kernel to perform higher-level house-keeping tasks, often acting as servers in a client-server relationship. Some would include a graphical user interface and window system as part of the OS, others would not. The operating system loader, BIOS, or other firmware required at boot time or when installing the operating system would generally not be considered part of the operating system, though this distinction is unclear in the case of a rommable operating system such as RISC OS. The facilities an operating system provides and its general design philosophy exert an extremely strong influence on programming style and on the technical cultures that grow up around the machines on which it runs. Example operating systems include 386BSD, AIX, AOS, Amoeba, Angel, Artemis microkernel, BeOS, Brazil, COS, CP/M, CTSS, Chorus, DACNOS, DOSEXEC 2, GCOS, GEORGE 3, GEOS, ITS, KAOS, Linux, LynxOS, MPV, MS-DOS, MVS, Mach, Macintosh operating system, Microsoft Windows, MINIX, Multics, Multipop-68, Novell NetWare, OS-9, OS/2, Pick, Plan 9, QNX, RISC OS, STING, System V, System/360, TOPS-10, TOPS-20, TRUSIX, TWENEX, TYMCOM-X, Thoth, Unix, VM/CMS, VMS, VRTX, VSTa, VxWorks, WAITS.
  • operating-system — the collection of software that directs a computer's operations, controlling and scheduling the execution of other programs, and managing storage, input/output, and communication resources. Abbreviation: OS.
  • over-consumption — the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.
  • overcompensating — Present participle of overcompensate.
  • overcompensation — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
  • paint-by-numbers — formulaic; showing no original thought or creativity
  • pairs tournament — an event in a sport such as tennis or darts open to pairs of competitors
  • palmer peninsula — former name of Antarctic Peninsula.
  • panoramic screen — a very wide screen, as of a television, etc
  • pascal's limacon — limaçon.
  • passive immunity — immunity resulting from the injection of antibodies or sensitized lymphocytes from another organism or, in infants, from the transfer of antibodies through the placenta or from colostrum.
  • pectoralis minor — the smaller of the two large chest muscles that assist in movements of the shoulder and upper arm
  • pension mortgage — an arrangement whereby a person takes out a mortgage and pays the capital repayment instalments into a pension fund and the interest to the mortgagee. The loan is repaid out of the tax-free lump sum proceeds of the pension plan on the borrower's retirement
  • pentothal sodium — thiopental sodium
  • people smuggling — People smuggling or people trafficking is the practice of bringing immigrants into a country illegally.
  • phalansterianism — a system by which society would be reorganized into units comprising their own social and industrial elements; Fourierism.
  • phantasmagorical — having a fantastic or deceptive appearance, as something in a dream or created by the imagination.
  • pharmacodynamics — the branch of pharmacology dealing with the course of action, effect, and breakdown of drugs within the body.
  • pharmacogenetics — the branch of pharmacology that examines the relation of genetic factors to variations in response to drugs.
  • pharmacogenomics — the study of human genetic variability in relation to drug action and its application to medical treatment
  • pharmacokinetics — the branch of pharmacology that studies the fate of pharmacological substances in the body, as their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.
  • phase modulation — radio transmission in which the carrier wave is modulated by changing its phase to transmit the amplitude and pitch of the signal.
  • photocomposition — any method of composition using photography, as composition by means of a photocomposer.
  • photoluminescent — luminescence induced by the absorption of infrared radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation.
  • physiognomically — the face or countenance, especially when considered as an index to the character: a fierce physiognomy.
  • pincers movement — a military maneuver in which both flanks of an enemy force are attacked with the aim of attaining complete encirclement.
  • plainclothes man — a detective or police officer who wears civilian clothes while on duty
  • pneumonoconiosis — pneumoconiosis.
  • pocono mountains — ridge of the Appalachians, in E Pa.: resort area: c. 2,000 ft (610 m) high
  • point estimation — the process of determining a single estimated value (point estimate) of a parameter of a given population.
  • poison sb's mind — If someone poisons your mind against another person, they make you dislike that person, usually by telling you things that are not true.
  • policy statement — a declaration of the plans and intentions of an organization or government
  • post-reformation — the act of reforming; state of being reformed.
  • post-romanticism — romantic spirit or tendency.
  • postremogeniture — a system of inheritance under which the estate of a deceased person goes to his youngest son. Also called ultimogeniture. Compare primogeniture (def 2).
  • premier division — a football or soccer league division consisting of the top ten Scottish football teams
  • premillennialism — the doctrine or belief that the Second Coming of Christ will precede the millennium.
  • presence of mind — a calm state of mind that allows one to think clearly or act effectively in an emergency.
  • price commission — (in Britain) a commission established by the government in 1973 with authority to control prices as a measure against inflation. It was abolished in 1980
  • price comparison — Price comparison is comparing the price of the same product in different outlets.
  • primary consumer — (in the food chain) an animal that feeds on plants; a herbivore.
  • primary industry — an industry, as agriculture, forestry, or fishing, that deals in obtaining natural materials.
  • primrose jasmine — an evergreen shrub, Jasminum mesnyi, of China, having thick, shiny leaflets and yellow flowers with a darker eye.
  • print journalism — journalism as practiced in newspapers and magazines.
  • proboscis monkey — a reddish, arboreal monkey, Nasalis larvatus, of Borneo, the male of which has a long, flexible nose: an endangered species.
  • professionalisms — professional character, spirit, or methods.
  • psychoimmunology — the branch of medicine studying the effects of psychological phenomena on the immune system; the intersection of psychology and immunology.
  • pulse modulation — a type of modulation in which a train of pulses is used as the carrier wave, one or more of its parameters, such as amplitude, being modulated or modified in order to carry information
  • punctuationalism — punctuated equilibrium.
  • punitive damages — law: penalty payment
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