15-letter words containing u, n, p
- pseudonephritis — a condition, thought to be benign, in which microscopic amounts of blood and protein are present in the urine, occurring commonly among athletes after strenuous exercise.
- pseudopregnancy — Pathology, Veterinary Pathology. false pregnancy.
- pseudoscientist — a person who practises pseudoscience or who falsely assumes the title of scientist
- public building — a building that belongs to a town or state, and is used by the public
- public defender — a lawyer appointed or elected by a city or county as a full-time, official defender to represent indigents in criminal cases at public expense.
- public interest — the welfare or well-being of the general public; commonwealth: health programs that directly affect the public interest.
- public nuisance — act, thing: anti-social
- public offering — a sale of a new issue of securities to the general public through a managing underwriter (opposed to private placement): required to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- public speaking — the act of delivering speeches in public.
- public spending — expenditure by central government, local authorities, and public enterprises
- publicity agent — A publicity agent is a person whose job is to make sure that a large number of people know about a person, show, or event so that they are successful.
- publicity event — an event designed to generate publicity
- publicity stunt — something done to attract publicity
- puffin crossing — a UK pedestrian road crossing with traffic lights signalling red to stop the traffic flow when pedestrians are seen on the crossing by infrared detectors. The green signal reappears when no pedestrians are seen on the crossing
- pulchritudinous — physically beautiful; comely.
- pull a fast one — moving or able to move, operate, function, or take effect quickly; quick; swift; rapid: a fast horse; a fast pain reliever; a fast thinker.
- pullman kitchen — a kitchenette, often recessed into a wall and concealed by double doors or a screen.
- pulmobranchiate — possessing a pulmobranch
- pulmonary valve — a semilunar valve between the pulmonary artery and the right ventricle of the heart that prevents the blood from flowing back into the right ventricle.
- pulsejet engine — a jet engine equipped with valves that continuously open to admit air, then close during combustion, giving a pulsating thrust: used to power the V-1, a German buzz bomb, in World War II.
- punch the bundy — to start work
- punctiliousness — extremely attentive to punctilios; strict or exact in the observance of the formalities or amenities of conduct or actions.
- pure and simple — sheer, utter
- pure land sects — Mahayana Buddhist sects venerating the Buddha as the compassionate saviour
- purified cotton — bleached and sterilized cotton from which the gross impurities, such as the seeds and waxy matter, have been removed: used for surgical dressings, tampons, etc
- purposelessness — having no purpose or apparent meaning.
- purslane family — the plant family Portulacaceae, characterized by chiefly herbaceous plants having simple, often fleshy leaves, sometimes showy flowers, and capsular fruit, and including bitterroot, purslane, red maids, rose moss, and spring beauty.
- push one's luck — the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I'll probably get pneumonia.
- pusillanimously — lacking courage or resolution; cowardly; faint-hearted; timid.
- put a damper on — To put a damper on something means to have an effect on it which stops it being as enjoyable or as successful as it should be.
- put into effect — law, rule: enforce
- put on the ritz — ostentatious or pretentious display.
- put on the spot — If you put someone on the spot, you cause them to have to answer a difficult question or make a difficult decision.
- put one over on — to get (someone) to accept or believe a claim, excuse, etc, by deception
- put oneself out — to move or place (anything) so as to get it into or out of a specific location or position: to put a book on the shelf.
- put the boot in — If someone puts the boot in, they attack another person by saying something cruel, often when the person is already feeling weak or upset.
- put the make on — to bring into existence by shaping or changing material, combining parts, etc.: to make a dress; to make a channel; to make a work of art.
- put the nips in — to exert pressure on someone, esp in order to extort money
- put the wind up — to frighten or alarm
- put years on sb — If you say that something such as an experience or a way of dressing has put years on someone, you mean that it has made them look or feel much older.
- quadripartition — A division into four parts.
- quadruplication — one of four copies or identical items, especially copies of typewritten material.
- quarter pounder — A quarter pounder is a hamburger that weighs four ounces before it is cooked. Four ounces is a quarter of a pound.
- quasi-dependent — relying on someone or something else for aid, support, etc.
- quasi-permanent — existing perpetually; everlasting, especially without significant change.
- queen's pattern — a pattern of ceramic decoration consisting of bands of swirling radial lines, white on blue alternating with red on white.
- queen's proctor — a British judiciary officer who may intervene in probate, nullity, or divorce actions when collusion, suppression of evidence, or other irregularities are alleged.
- query expansion — (information science) Adding search terms to a user's search. Query expansion is the process of a search engine adding search terms to a user's weighted search. The intent is to improve precision and/or recall. The additional terms may be taken from a thesaurus. For example a search for "car" may be expanded to: car cars auto autos automobile automobiles. The additional terms may also be taken from documents that the user has specified as being relevant; this is the basis for the "more like this" feature of some search engines. The extra terms can have positive or negative weights.
- question period — a period of time set aside each day for members of parliament to question government ministers
- quintuplicating — Present participle of quintuplicate.