18-letter words containing u, r, e
- passing-out parade — a ceremonial parade of cadets who have completed their training
- passive vocabulary — all the words, collectively, that a person can understand
- payment by results — a system of wage payment whereby all or part of the wage varies systematically according to the level of work performance of an employee
- pedal steel guitar — an oblong, floor-mounted electrified guitar, usually having ten strings, fretted with a steel bar and producing a wailing sound that is modulated by use of a foot pedal.
- pemphigus vulgaris — a potentially fatal blistering skin disease, characterized by large blisters on the skin, mucous membranes of the mouth, genitals, intestines, etc, which eventually rupture and form painful denuded areas from which critical amounts of bodily protein, fluid, and blood may be lost
- pensioneer trustee — (in Britain) a person authorized by HMRC to oversee the management of a pension fund
- per ardua ad astra — through difficulties to the stars: the motto of the RAF
- perceptual defence — the process by which it is thought that certain stimuli are either not perceived or are distorted due to their offensive, unpleasant, or threatening nature
- perceptual mapping — the use of a graph or map in the development of a new product, in which the proximity of consumers' images of the new product to those of an ideal product provide an indication of the new product's likely success
- percussion flaking — a method of forming a flint tool by striking flakes from a stone core with another stone or a piece of bone or wood.
- percussion section — orchestra, group: drums, etc.
- percussion welding — a form of resistance welding in which the required pressure is provided by a hammerlike blow.
- perfect continuous — perfect progressive.
- perish the thought — to die or be destroyed through violence, privation, etc.: to perish in an earthquake.
- perlocutionary act — the action of affecting someone by uttering certain words
- pernicious anaemia — Pernicious anaemia is a very severe blood disease.
- perpetual calendar — a calendar devised to be used for many years, as in determining the day of the week on which a given date falls.
- persistent cruelty — conduct causing fear of danger to the life or health of a spouse (used in matrimonial proceedings before magistrates)
- personal bodyguard — a person employed to protect a particular person
- personal insurance — insurance on personal risk, such as car insurance, health insurance or loss of earnings insurance
- petite bourgeoisie — the portion of the bourgeoisie having the least wealth and lowest social status; the lower middle class.
- petroleum engineer — A petroleum engineer is an engineer who is involved in most stages of oil and gas field evaluation, development, and production, whose job is to maximize hydrocarbon recovery and reduce costs and environmental impact.
- phoenician juniper — a type of juniper that is found in the Mediterranean region
- picture-in-picture — a feature of some television receivers and similar devices in which one programme is displayed on the full TV screen at the same time as one or more other programmes are displayed in inset windows
- piperonyl butoxide — a light-brown liquid, C 1 9 H 3 0 O 5 , used chiefly as a synergist in certain insecticides.
- pitt-rivers museum — a museum in Oxford that houses a major anthropological collection of tools and weapons assembled by Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers
- play silly buggers — to fool around and waste time
- pleasure principle — an automatic mental drive or instinct seeking to avoid pain and to obtain pleasure.
- plenary indulgence — a remission of the total temporal punishment that is still due to sin after absolution. Compare indulgence (def 6).
- plumber's merchant — a shop or business that sells things needed for the job of installing and repairing pipes, fixtures, etc, for water, drainage, and gas
- pneumatic conveyor — a tube through which powdered or granular material, such as cement, grain, etc is transported by a flow of air
- point of departure — Nautical. the precise location of a vessel, established in order to set a course, especially in beginning a voyage in open water.
- point of no return — Aviation. the point in a flight at which an aircraft will lack sufficient fuel to return to its starting point.
- population figures — population totals; statistics relating to the size of populations
- porcupine anteater — an echidna or spiny anteater.
- portable equipment — Portable equipment is electrical equipment that can easily be moved from one place to another while in operation or while connected to the supply.
- porter-house steak — Also called porterhouse steak. a choice cut of beef from between the prime ribs and the sirloin.
- portuguese guinean — of or relating to Portuguese Guinea, a former name for Guinea-Bissau, or its inhabitants
- possessive pronoun — See at possessive (def 4a).
- post-revolutionary — of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change: a revolutionary junta.
- potassium chlorate — a white or colorless, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous solid, KClO 3 , used chiefly as an oxidizing agent in the manufacture of explosives, fireworks, matches, bleaches, and disinfectants.
- potassium chloride — a white or colorless, crystalline, water-soluble solid, KCl, used chiefly in the manufacture of fertilizers and mineral water, and as a source of other potassium compounds.
- potassium fluoride — a white, crystalline, hygroscopic, toxic powder, KF, used chiefly as an insecticide, a disinfectant, and in etching glass.
- potassium myronate — sinigrin.
- pour cold water on — If someone pours cold water on a plan or idea, they criticize it so much that people lose their enthusiasm for it.
- preantepenultimate — third from the end.
- precious moonstone — moonstone (def 1).
- predation pressure — the effect of predation upon a population, resulting in the decrease in size of that population.
- predicate calculus — predicate logic
- prefect of studies — a senior master in a Jesuit school or college