15-letter words containing y, e, a, r
- sabbatical year — Also called sabbatical leave. (in a school, college, university, etc.) a year, usually every seventh, of release from normal teaching duties granted to a professor, as for study or travel.
- saccharomycetes — a collective name for yeasts
- salary increase — an increase in the salary or pay given to an employee
- salem secretary — a tall cabinet having a recessed upper part fitted with drawers and shelves and a lower part with doors and a section falling or pulling out to serve as a writing surface.
- salisbury steak — ground beef, sometimes mixed with other foods, shaped like a hamburger patty and broiled or fried, often garnished or served with a sauce.
- saltwater taffy — a taffy sometimes made with seawater but more generally made with salted fresh water.
- sarcenchymatous — relating to the connective tissue of some sponges
- say a few words — to give a brief speech
- scarlet lychnis — a plant, Lychnis chalcedonica, of the pink family, having scarlet or sometimes white flowers, the arrangement and shape of the petals resembling a Maltese cross.
- secondary cause — a cause which is not the primary or ultimate cause
- secondary color — a color, as orange, green, or violet, produced by mixing two primary colors.
- secondary group — a group of people with whom one's contacts are detached and impersonal.
- secondary metal — metal derived wholly or in part from scrap.
- secondary xylem — xylem derived from the cambium during secondary growth.
- security camera — closed-circuit TV camera
- security thread — a colored thread running through the paper of a piece of paper money, used to deter counterfeiting.
- security threat — a threat to the security of a country
- self-regulatory — Self-regulatory systems, organizations, or activities are controlled by the people involved in them, rather than by outside organizations or rules.
- self-revelatory — displaying, exhibiting, or disclosing one's most private feelings, thoughts, etc.: an embarrassingly self-revealing autobiography.
- semantic memory — the recollection of facts and concepts
- semicrystalline — partly or imperfectly crystalline.
- semicylindrical — of, relating to, or having the shape of a semicylinder
- semidocumentary — a film or television programme that is fictional but includes many factual events or details
- semipornography — partial pornography; material that is almost pornographic
- septentrionally — northwards; in the direction of the north
- serial monogamy — a form of monogamy characterized by several successive, short-term marriages over the course of a lifetime.
- sesquicentenary — a hundred and fiftieth anniversary
- set by the ears — to cause disagreement or commotion
- seven-year itch — scabies.
- sharing economy — a system in which people rent, borrow, or share commodities, services, and resources owned by individuals, usually with the aid of online technology, in an effort to save money, cut costs, and reduce waste.
- silent majority — the U.S. citizens who supported President Nixon's policies but who were not politically vocal, outspoken, or active: considered by him to constitute a majority.
- simple majority — less than half of the total votes cast but more than the minimum required to win, as when there are more than two candidates or choices.
- sinorespiratory — of, relating to, or affecting the paranasal sinuses and the respiratory tract.
- small cranberry — See under cranberry (def 1).
- social security — (usually initial capital letters) a program of old-age, unemployment, health, disability, and survivors insurance maintained by the U.S. federal government through compulsory payments by specific employer and employee groups.
- somatic therapy — any of a group of treatments presumed to act on biological factors leading to mental illness.
- southeastwardly — toward the southeast
- southwestwardly — toward the southwest
- special library — a library maintained by an organization, as a business, association, or government agency, to collect materials and provide information of special relevance to the work of the organization.
- stationary wave — standing wave.
- statutory crime — a wrong punishable under a statute, rather than at common law.
- statutory order — a statute that applies further legislation to an existing act
- stay the course — to spend some time in a place, in a situation, with a person or group, etc.: He stayed in the army for ten years.
- stereologically — by way of stereology or in a stereological manner
- stereotypically — in a stereotypical manner
- storage battery — a voltaic battery consisting of two or more storage cells.
- strawberry bass — the black crappie. See under crappie.
- strawberry bush — an E North American shrub or small tree, Euonymus americanus, having pendulous capsules that split when ripe to reveal scarlet seeds: family Celastraceae
- strawberry dish — a shallow, circular fruit dish with a fluted or pierced border.
- strawberry mark — a small, reddish, slightly raised birthmark.