18-letter words containing t, e, p
- assignment problem — (mathematics, algorithm) (Or "linear assignment") Any problem involving minimising the sum of C(a, b) over a set P of pairs (a, b) where a is an element of some set A and b is an element of set B, and C is some function, under constraints such as "each element of A must appear exactly once in P" or similarly for B, or both. For example, the a's could be workers and the b's projects. The problem is "linear" because the "cost function" C() depends only on the particular pairing (a, b) and is independent of all other pairings.
- associated company — a company which is largely controlled by its parent company because the latter owns anything up to 50% of the shares
- ast computers, llc — (company) The private company formed in January 1999 when Mr. Beny Alagem, the former chairman of Packard Bell NEC, Inc., bought the name and intellectual property of AST Research, Inc.. AST Computers, LLC provide hardware, software, and services for small US businesses. Address: Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- asymptotic freedom — a property of the force between quarks, according to quantum chromodynamics, such that they behave almost like free particles when they are close together within a hadron.
- at your fingertips — If you say that something is at your fingertips, you approve of the fact that you can reach it easily or that it is easily available to you.
- athletic supporter — jockstrap
- atmospheric engine — an early form of single-acting engine in which the power stroke is provided by atmospheric pressure acting upon a piston in an exhausted cylinder.
- atmospheric window — wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be transmitted through the earth's atmosphere. Atmospheric windows occur in the visible, infrared, and radio regions of the spectrum
- auditory phonetics — the branch of phonetics concerned with the perception of speech sounds by humans
- australopithecines — Plural form of australopithecine.
- authorized capital — the total amount of value of the shares that a company is allowed to distribute
- automatic exposure — the automatic adjustment of the lens aperture and shutter speed of a camera by a control mechanism
- autonomous phoneme — a phoneme that is defined or determined by its contrast in sound with other phonemes, without reference to its role in morphology or any other level of linguistic analysis beyond the phonetic level.
- avoirdupois weight — a British and American system of weights based on a pound of 16 ounces
- axile placentation — a type of placenta structure in an ovary with the ovules forming at the angles where the septa join the central placenta
- bachelor apartment — a flat consisting of one room that is used as a sitting room and bedroom, as well as a kitchenette and a bathroom
- bachelorette party — A bachelorette party is a party for a woman who is getting married very soon, to which only women are invited.
- balanced computing — (jargon) Matching computer tools to job activities so that the computer system structure parallels the organisation structure and work functions. Both personal computers and employees operate in a decentralised environment with monitoring of achievement of management objectives from centralised corporate systems.
- ballistic pendulum — a device consisting of a large mass hung from a horizontal bar by two rods, used to measure the velocity of an object, as a bullet, by retaining the object upon impact, its velocity being a function of the displacement of the mass.
- band-tailed pigeon — a wild pigeon, Columba fasciata, of western North America, having a gray band on its tail.
- bankers-acceptance — a draft or bill of exchange that a bank has accepted. Abbreviation: BA. Also called banker's acceptance. Compare acceptance (def 6).
- barbershop quartet — a group of four singers who perform a style of music sung in four-part harmony
- baritone saxophone — the second lowest instrument in the family of saxophones
- basement apartment — an apartment below the ground floor of a building
- beautiful hook-tip — a similar but unrelated species, Laspeyria flexula
- beauty competition — a competition in which the participants, usually women, are judged on their attractiveness, with a prize, and often a title, awarded to the winner
- before the present — See B.P (def 4).
- behaviour patterns — the characteristic ways in which a person or animal acts
- benchmark position — a public service job used for comparison with a similar position, such as a position in commerce, for wage settlements
- berwick-upon-tweed — a town in N England, in N Northumberland at the mouth of the Tweed: much involved in border disputes between England and Scotland between the 12th and 16th centuries; neutral territory 1551–1885. Pop: 12 870 (2001)
- beta-naphthylamine — a white to reddish, crystalline, water-soluble, extremely toxic solid, C 10 H 9 N, used chiefly in the manufacture of azo dyes.
- beyond one's depth — in water deeper than one is tall
- bichromate process — any of several methods of photography in which the light-sensitive medium is alkaline bichromate associated with a colloid such as gum, albumen, or gelatin.
- biological parents — the biological mother and father of a child
- biological therapy — biotherapy
- bitwise complement — The bitwise complement of a bit field is a bit field of the same length but with each zero changed to a one and vice versa. This is the same as the ones complement of a binary integer.
- blue-plate special — an inexpensive restaurant meal served at a fixed price on a large plate, originally blue
- borax pentahydrate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, Na 2 B 4 O 7 ⋅5H 2 O, used chiefly for killing weeds, as a water softener, and as a disinfectant and deodorizing agent.
- bore the pants off — to bore extremely
- born to the purple — being of royal or high birth
- bottlenose dolphin — any dolphin of the genus Tursiops, esp T. truncatus, some of which have been kept in captivity and trained to perform tricks
- boundedly complete — (theory) (Or "consistently complete") In domain theory, a complete partial order is boundedly complete if every bounded subset has a least upper bound.
- brand-name product — A brand-name product is one which is made by a well-known manufacturer and has the manufacturer's label on it.
- bubble-jet printer — an ink-jet printer that heats the ink before printing
- byte-code compiler — (programming, tool) A compiler which outputs a program in some kind of byte-code. Compare: byte-code interpreter.
- c-reactive protein — a globulin in the blood produced by the liver in response to inflammation
- calcium propionate — a white, water-soluble powder, CaC 6 H 10 O 4 , used in bakery products to inhibit the growth of fungi.
- campaign furniture — furniture, as chests or desks, having metal hinges on the corners and handles on the sides.
- cap of maintenance — a ceremonial cap or hat worn or carried as a symbol of office, rank, etc
- cape breton island — an island off SE Canada, in NE Nova Scotia, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Canso: its easternmost point is Cape Breton. Pop: 132 298 (2006). Area: 10 280 sq km (3970 sq miles)