16-letter words containing t, o, p, r

the yellow press — (formerly) popular newspapers publishing sensational stories
theatre workshop — a theatre company that is noted for the unconventional theatrical performances it puts on, especially with reference to a company based in the East End of London from 1953 to 1973 that was founded in 1945 by Joan Littlewood
thermoacidophile — any organism, especially a type of archaebacterium, that thrives in strongly acidic environments at high temperatures.
thermoplasticity — soft and pliable when heated, as some plastics, without any change of the inherent properties.
three-point line — Basketball. a field goal worth three points, made from behind a specified line (three-point line)
three-point play — a play in which a player sinks the free throw that was awarded when the player was fouled while scoring a basket.
three-point turn — When the driver of a vehicle does a three-point turn, he or she turns the vehicle by driving forwards in a curve, then backwards in a curve, and then forwards in a curve.
thrombocytopenia — an abnormal decrease in the number of blood platelets.
thrombophlebitis — the presence of a thrombus in a vein accompanied by inflammation of the vessel wall.
through-composed — having different music for each verse: a through-composed song. Compare strophic (def 2).
throw for a loop — a portion of a cord, ribbon, etc., folded or doubled upon itself so as to leave an opening between the parts.
tightrope walker — performer who walks on high wire
to bite your lip — If you bite your lip or your tongue, you stop yourself from saying something that you want to say, because it would be the wrong thing to say in the circumstances.
to blow your top — If someone blows their top, they become very angry about something.
to coin a phrase — You say 'to coin a phrase' to show that you realize you are making a pun or using a cliché.
to compare notes — If you compare notes with someone on a particular subject, you talk to them and find out whether their opinion, information, or experience is the same as yours.
to dip your toes — If you dip your toes into something or dip your toes into the waters of something, you start doing that thing slowly and carefully, because you are not sure whether it will be successful or whether you will like it.
to get bad press — If someone or something gets bad press, they are criticized, especially in the newspapers, on television, or on radio. If they get good press, they are praised.
to keep a secret — If you say that someone can keep a secret, you mean that they can be trusted not to tell other people a secret that you have told them.
to play for time — If you play for time, you try to make something happen more slowly, because you do not want it to happen or because you need time to think about what to do if it happens.
to put sth right — If you put something right, you correct something that was wrong or that was causing problems.
to rest in peace — If you express the wish that a dead person may rest in peace, you are showing respect and sympathy for him or her. 'Rest in peace' or 'RIP' is also sometimes written on gravestones.
to stop short of — If someone stops short of doing something, they come close to doing it but do not actually do it.
tongue depressor — a broad, thin piece of wood used by doctors to hold down the patient's tongue during an examination of the mouth and throat.
top drive system — A top drive system is a system which includes a motor that turns the drill string, used instead of the kelly.
top-of-the-range — de luxe, expensive
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.
transfer company — a company that transports people or luggage for a relatively short distance, as between terminals of two railroad lines.
transition point — Physics. a temperature at which a substance undergoes some abrupt change in its properties, as when it passes from the normal to the superconducting state.
transpeptidation — the process of transferring an amino acid or group of amino acids from one compound to another.
transport number — that fraction of the total electric current that anions and cations carry in passing through an electrolytic solution.
transport police — the national police force for railways in Britain, which protects rail operators, staff and passengers
trap-door spider — any of several burrowing spiders, of the family Ctenizidae, that construct a tubular nest with a hinged lid.
trapezoidal rule — a numerical method for evaluating the area between a curve and an axis by approximating the area with the areas of trapezoids.
trial separation — an experimental period of living apart
trick photograph — a photograph that creates an illusion
tridarn cupboard — a Welsh cupboard of the late 17th and 18th centuries, with an open, canopied upper section for display.
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.
troop the colors — to parade the colors, or flag, before troops
tropic of cancer — Geography. either of two corresponding parallels of latitude on the terrestrial globe, one (tropic of Cancer) about 23½° N, and the other (tropic of Capricorn) about 23½° S of the equator, being the boundaries of the Torrid Zone. the tropics, the regions lying between and near these parallels of latitude; the Torrid Zone and neighboring regions.
tropical cyclone — a cyclone that originates over a tropical ocean area and can develop into the destructive storm known in the U.S. as a hurricane, in the western Pacific region as a typhoon, and elsewhere by other names. Compare extratropical cyclone, hurricane (def 1), willy-willy.
trucking company — a company that transports goods by lorry
turn upside down — invert
two-body problem — the problem of calculating the motions of two bodies in space moving solely under the influence of their mutual gravitational attraction.
two-party system — a political system consisting chiefly of two major parties, more or less equal in strength.
two-percent milk — Two-percent milk is milk from which some of the cream has been removed.
two-pot screamer — a person easily influenced by alcohol
twofold purchase — a purchase using a double standing block and a double running block so as to give a mechanical advantage of four or five, neglecting friction, depending on whether the hauling is on the standing block or the running block.
ultramicroscopic — an instrument that uses scattering phenomena to detect the position of objects too small to be seen by an ordinary microscope.

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