16-letter words containing s, t, p, e
- 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
- spreader-ditcher — a machine for shaping and cleaning roadbeds and ditches and for freeing tracks of ice and snow by plowing and digging.
- spreading center — a linear zone in the sea floor along which magma rises and from which adjacent crustal plates are moving apart.
- spreading factor — a substance, as hyaluronidase, that promotes the diffusion of a material through body tissues
- 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.
- stage production — a play or show which is performed on stage
- stalked puffball — a puffball-like mushroom of the genus Tulestoma, maturing in early winter.
- stamp collecting — Stamp collecting is the hobby of building up a collection of stamps.
- stamp collection — the act of collecting postage stamps as a hobby
- standing cypress — a plant, Ipomopsis rubra, of the southern U.S., having feathery leaves and clusters of red and yellow flowers.
- stannic sulphide — an insoluble solid compound of tin usually existing as golden crystals or as a yellowish-brown powder: used as a pigment. Formula: SnS2
- state apartments — the most impressive rooms in a palace or mansion, used by royalty, or to receive visiting dignitaries
- state capitalism — a form of capitalism in which the central government controls most of the capital, industry, natural resources, etc.
- state department — state (def 12).
- stenothermophile — a stenothermophilic bacterium.
- step out of line — to fail to conform to expected standards, attitudes, etc
- stephen f austin — Alfred, 1835–1913, English poet: poet laureate 1896–1913.
- stereomicroscope — stereoscopic microscope.
- sticking plaster — an adhesive cloth or other material for covering and closing superficial wounds, holding bandages in place, etc.
- stinging capsule — a nematocyst.
- 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.
- stop-loss clause — a limitation on the amount of loss sustained by the insured without compensation in a given period.
- stopped diapason — a full, rich outpouring of melodious sound.
- storage capacity — amount of room or space
- strange particle — any elementary particle with a strangeness quantum number other than zero.
- street performer — busker or entertainer in a public place
- stretch receptor — muscle spindle.
- striped squirrel — any squirrel with stripes on its back, as a chipmunk.
- studio apartment — an apartment consisting of one main room, a kitchen or kitchenette, and a bathroom. Compare efficiency apartment.
- sub-postmistress — (in Britain) a woman who runs a sub-post office
- subsistence crop — a food plant which is grown by a farmer for consumption by himself and his family, leaving little or nothing to be marketed
- 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
- 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.
- super-injunction — an instruction or order issued by a court imposing restrictions on reporting, including any reference to the restriction itself
- super-patriotism — a person who is patriotic to an extreme.
- superfecundation — the fertilization of two or more ova discharged at the same ovulation by successive acts of sexual intercourse.
- superficialities — being at, on, or near the surface: a superficial wound.
- superheavyweight — an amateur boxer weighing more than 91 kg
- supernationalism — an extreme or fanatical loyalty or devotion to a nation.
- supersensitivity — extremely or excessively sensitive; hypersensitive: a supersensitive smoke detector.
- superunification — a theory intended to describe the electromagnetic force, the strong force, the weak force, and gravity as a single, unified force.
- surface-printing — planography.
- susceptibilities — emotional sensibilities; feelings
- suspending agent — A suspending agent is a liquid in which a solid substance can be held in suspension.
- suspense account — an account in which items are temporarily entered until their final disposition is determined.
- suspension point — one of a group of dots, usually three, used in written material to indicate the omission of a word or words
- sustaining pedal — a pedal on a piano that when depressed with the foot raises the dampers and permits the strings to vibrate and sustain the tone.
- swash plate pump — a collar or face plate on a shaft that is inclined at an oblique angle to the axis of rotation and imparts reciprocating motion to push rods parallel to the shaft axis