12-letter words containing s, p, o, t, e
- jump shooter — a player skilled at jump shots.
- keep tabs on — a small flap, strap, loop, or similar appendage, as on a garment, used for pulling, hanging, or decoration.
- ken thompson — (person) The principal inventor of the Unix operating system and author of the B language, the predecessor of C. In the early days Ken used to hand-cut Unix distribution tapes, often with a note that read "Love, ken". Old-timers still use his first name (sometimes uncapitalised, because it's a login name and mail address) in third-person reference; it is widely understood (on Usenet in particular) that without a last name "Ken" refers only to Ken Thompson. Similarly, Dennis without last name means Dennis Ritchie (and he is often known as dmr). Ken was first hired to work on the Multics project, which was a huge production with many people working on it. Multics was supposed to support hundreds of on-line logins but could barely handle three. In 1969, when Bell Labs withdrew from the project, Ken got fed up with Multics and went off to write his own operating system. People said "well, if zillions of people wrote Multics, then an OS written by one guy must be Unix!". There was some joking about eunichs as well. Ken's wife Bonnie and son Corey (then 18 months old) went to visit family in San Diego. Ken spent one week each on the kernel, file system, etc., and finished UNIX in one month along with developing SPACEWAR (or was it "Space Travel"?). See also back door, brute force, demigod, wumpus.
- keratoplasty — plastic surgery performed upon the cornea, especially a corneal transplantation.
- keystone kop — Usually, Keystone Kops. (in early silent movies) a team of comic policemen noted for their slapstick routines.
- kinetoplasts — Plural form of kinetoplast.
- kitchen soap — heavy-duty soap intended for use in the kitchen
- laparotomies — Plural form of laparotomy.
- leptosomatic — a person of asthenic build.
- leptospermum — any of various shrubs or trees of the genus Leptospermum, of the myrtle family, native to Australia and adjacent areas and often cultivated as ornamentals in milder climates.
- life support — equipment to sustain a patient's life
- life-support — of or relating to equipment or measures that sustain or artificially substitute for essential body functions, as breathing or disposal of body wastes: Without life-support equipment, the patient might die.
- lipoproteins — Plural form of lipoprotein.
- lithopedions — Plural form of lithopedion.
- lithospermum — any annual or perennial herbs and small shrubs of the genus lithospermum, of the borage family, native to Europe, N America, and northern Asia, and having white, blue, or yellow flowers
- lithospheric — Of or pertaining to the lithosphere.
- lopez mateos — Adolfo [ah-th awl-faw] /ɑˈðɔl fɔ/ (Show IPA), 1910–69, Mexican lawyer and politician: president of Mexico 1958–64.
- low-spirited — depressed; dejected: He is feeling rather low-spirited today.
- lower depths — a play (1902) by Maxim Gorki.
- lumpectomies — Plural form of lumpectomy.
- lycanthropes — Plural form of lycanthrope.
- macropterous — having long or large wings or fins.
- madreporites — Plural form of madreporite.
- magnetopause — the boundary between the earth's magnetosphere and interplanetary space, about 40,000 miles (65,000 km) above the earth, marked by an abrupt decrease in the earth's magnetic induction.
- massotherapy — treatment by massage.
- master point — a point awarded to a bridge player who has won or placed in an officially recognized tournament.
- mastigophore — Any flagellate of the phylum Mastigophora.
- mediatorship — the position of a mediator
- meeting post — a timber with a chamfer at the outer edge of a lock gate that fits against the meeting post of another lock gate.
- meganthropus — a proposed genus of extinct, late lower Pleistocene primates based on two large lower jaws found in Java, and believed to be either Australopithecine or human.
- mephibosheth — a son of Jonathan, and the grandson of Saul. II Sam 4:4.
- mesoplankton — plankton that live at middle depths.
- mesopotamian — an ancient region in W Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers: now part of Iraq.
- metal polish — cleaning fluid designed to clean, polish or add shine to metal
- metamorphism — Geology. a change in the structure or constitution of a rock due to natural agencies, as pressure and heat, especially when the rock becomes harder and more completely crystalline.
- metamorphist — a member of a group of 16th century Christians who believed that the humanly body of Jesus Christ metamorphosed into God during the Ascension
- metamorphose — to change the form or nature of; transform.
- metamorphous — metamorphic.
- metapolitics — political theory: often used derogatorily
- metropolises — any large, busy city.
- micropterous — (of certain animals, esp some types of ant) having small reduced wings
- mifepristone — an antigestational drug, C 29 H 35 NO 2 , that prevents a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall by blocking the action of progesterone.
- mips project — Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages
- misanthropes — Plural form of misanthrope.
- misoperation — an act or instance, process, or manner of functioning or operating.
- monopetalous — gamopetalous.
- monophysites — Plural form of monophysite.
- monoterpenes — Plural form of monoterpene.
- montes pubis — mons pubis
- montparnasse — a district in S Paris, France, on the left bank of the Seine: noted for its cafés and the artists and writers who have frequented and lived in the area.