16-letter words containing s, p, o, i, l
- still photograph — a photograph taken from a cinema film which is used for publicity purposes
- stomach stapling — Stomach stapling is an operation in which part of the stomach is removed in order to help a person to eat less and lose weight.
- stonecrop family — the plant family Crassulaceae, characterized by succulent herbaceous plants and shrubs with simple, fleshy leaves, clusters of small flowers, and dry, dehiscent fruit, and including hen-and-chickens, houseleek, kalanchoe, live-forever, orpine, sedum, and stonecrop.
- stop-limit order — stop order.
- subtropical high — one of several highs, as the Azores and Pacific highs, that prevail over the oceans at latitudes of about 30 degrees N and S. Also called subtropical anticyclone. Compare high (def 37).
- sugar plantation — a large area of land where sugar is grown
- sulfanilyl group — the para form of the group C 6 H 6 NO 2 S–, derived from sulfanilic acid.
- sulphur trioxide — a white corrosive substance existing in three crystalline forms of which the stable (alpha-) form is usually obtained as silky needles. It is produced by the oxidation of sulphur dioxide, and is used in the sulphonation of organic compounds. Formula: SO3
- sulu archipelago — an island group in the SW Philippines, separating the Sulawesi Sea from the Sulu Sea. 1086 sq. mi. (2813 sq. km). Capital: Jolo.
- summer complaint — an acute condition of diarrhea, occurring during the hot summer months chiefly in infants and children, caused by bacterial contamination of food and associated with poor hygiene.
- sun in splendour — a representation of the sun with rays and a human face
- superciliousness — haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
- superior general — the superior of an order or congregation.
- supernationalism — an extreme or fanatical loyalty or devotion to a nation.
- supranationalism — outside or beyond the authority of one national government, as a project or policy that is planned and controlled by a group of nations.
- telescopic sight — a telescope mounted on a rifle, etc, used for sighting
- the first couple — the US president and their spouse
- thermoplasticity — soft and pliable when heated, as some plastics, without any change of the inherent properties.
- thrombophlebitis — the presence of a thrombus in a vein accompanied by inflammation of the vessel wall.
- topical-sentence — a sentence that expresses the essential idea of a paragraph or larger section, usually appearing at the beginning.
- topless swimsuit — swimsuit which has no covering for the breasts
- topsail schooner — a sailing vessel fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts with square sails above the foresail, and often with a square sail before the foresail.
- torsion pendulum — a pendulum the weight of which is rotated alternately in opposite directions through a horizontal plane by the torsion of the suspending rod or spring: used for clocks intended to run a long time between windings.
- transport police — the national police force for railways in Britain, which protects rail operators, staff and passengers
- trial separation — an experimental period of living apart
- triple-expansion — noting a power source, especially a steam engine, using the same fluid at three successive stages of expansion to do work in three or more cylinders.
- two-tailed pasha — a distinctive vanessid butterfly of S Europe, Charaxes jasius, having mottled brown wings with a yellow-orange margin and frilled hind edges
- typhoid bacillus — the bacterium Salmonella typhosa, causing typhoid fever.
- ultramicroscopic — an instrument that uses scattering phenomena to detect the position of objects too small to be seen by an ordinary microscope.
- unaccomplishable — to bring to its goal or conclusion; carry out; perform; finish: to accomplish one's mission.
- uncomprehensible — capable of being comprehended or understood; intelligible.
- uncompromisingly — not admitting of compromise or adjustment of differences; making no concessions; inaccessible to flexible bargaining; unyielding: an uncompromising attitude.
- unimpressionable — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- unpublished work — a literary work that has not been reproduced for sale or publicly distributed.
- upsilon particle — the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet (Υ, υ).
- verneuil process — a process for making synthetic rubies, sapphires, spinels, etc., by the fusion at high temperatures of powdered compounds.
- videodisc player — an electronic device for playing videodiscs through a television set.
- virginia cowslip — a perennial woodland plant (Mertensia virginica) of the borage family, native to E North America and having clusters of blue or purple, bell-shaped flowers
- vitruvius pollio — Marcus, flourished 1st century b.c, Roman architect, engineer, and author.
- will-o'-the-wisp — ignis fatuus (def 1).
- windfall profits — Windfall profits are excessive profits with a non-business cause such as a natural disaster.
- windowpane shell — capiz.
- world exposition — world's fair.
- yah-boo politics — adversarial politics in which politicians constantly deride their opponents and dismiss everything suggested by them
- zenith telescope — a telescope mounted to point only at the zenith, used at some observatories for measuring time by the stars.