16-letter words containing y, s
- special delivery — (in the U.S. Postal Service) delivery of mail outside the regularly scheduled hours, by a special messenger, upon the payment of an extra fee.
- specific gravity — the ratio of the density of any substance to the density of some other substance taken as standard, water being the standard for liquids and solids, and hydrogen or air being the standard for gases.
- spectrochemistry — the branch of chemistry that deals with the chemical analysis of substances by means of the spectra of light they absorb or emit.
- speech community — the aggregate of all the people who use a given language or dialect.
- speech pathology — the scientific study and treatment of defects, disorders, and malfunctions of speech and voice, as stuttering, lisping, or lalling, and of language disturbances, as aphasia or delayed language acquisition.
- speech synthesis — computer-generated audio output that imitates human speech
- sphygmomanometer — an instrument, often attached to an inflatable air-bladder cuff and used with a stethoscope, for measuring blood pressure in an artery.
- sphygmomanometry — an instrument, often attached to an inflatable air-bladder cuff and used with a stethoscope, for measuring blood pressure in an artery.
- spiny-rayed fish — any of various fishes, as basses and perches, that have sharp, often pointed and usually rigid fin spines.
- spongy-mesophyll — the lower layer of the ground tissue of a leaf, characteristically containing irregularly shaped cells with relatively few chloroplasts and large intercellular spaces.
- spraying machine — a device for spraying large volumes of liquid, such as insecticide onto crops
- sprinkler system — apparatus for automatically extinguishing fires in a building, consisting of a system of water pipes in or below the ceilings, with valves or sprinklers usually made to open automatically at a certain temperature.
- squeaky-bum time — the tense final matches in the race to a league championship, esp from the point of view of the leaders
- st. lucie cherry — mahaleb.
- stagedoor johnny — a man who often goes to a theater or waits at a stage door to court an actress.
- standard annuity — A standard annuity is a retirement investment insurance contract that pays a regular income in return for a lump sum payment.
- standing cypress — a plant, Ipomopsis rubra, of the southern U.S., having feathery leaves and clusters of red and yellow flowers.
- starry grasswort — a weedy plant, Cerastium arvense, of the pink family, native to the North Temperate Zone, having narrow leaves and white flowers.
- start-up company — new business
- state university — a university maintained by the government of a state.
- state's attorney — (in judicial proceedings) the legal representative of the state.
- stationary front — a front between warm and cold air masses that is moving very slowly or not at all.
- stationary orbit — an orbit lying in, or approximately in, the plane of the equator for which the orbital period is equal to the spin period of the central body
- stationary point — a point on a curve at which the tangent is either horizontal or vertical, such as a maximum, a minimum, or a point of inflection
- stationary state — any of several energy states an atom may occupy without emitting electromagnetic radiation.
- statutory change — a change in the law
- stereoregularity — (of a polymer) the degree to which successive configurations in space along the chain follow a simple rule. Also called tacticity. Compare configuration (def 4).
- stonecrop family — the plant family Crassulaceae, characterized by succulent herbaceous plants and shrubs with simple, fleshy leaves, clusters of small flowers, and dry, dehiscent fruit, and including hen-and-chickens, houseleek, kalanchoe, live-forever, orpine, sedum, and stonecrop.
- storage capacity — amount of room or space
- straight whiskey — pure, unblended whiskey of 80 to 110 proof.
- strawberry blite — a plant, Chenopodium capitatum, having dense, rounded clusters of minute reddish flowers.
- strawberry blond — reddish blond.
- strawberry guava — a shrub or small tree, Psidium littorale, of the myrtle family, native to Brazil, having smooth, grayish-brown bark, leathery leaves, white flowers, and edible, white-fleshed, purplish-red fruit.
- strawberry shrub — Carolina allspice
- street directory — a directory containing an alphabetical list of streets along with other information such as the names and addresses of householders and tradespeople
- strict liability — responsibility for damage or loss regardless of intention or culpability
- strongyloidiasis — an intestinal disease caused by infection with the nematode worm Strongyloides stercoralis
- styralyl acetate — methylphenylcarbinyl acetate.
- substitutability — a person or thing acting or serving in place of another.
- sulfanilyl group — the para form of the group C 6 H 6 NO 2 S–, derived from sulfanilic acid.
- sulfur butterfly — any of various yellow or orange butterflies of the family Pieridae.
- summary judgment — a judgment, as in an action for debt, that is entered without the necessity of jury trial, based on affidavits of the creditor and debtor that convince the court that there is no arguable issue.
- sunray treatment — treatment using a sunray lamp
- sunrise industry — any of the high-technology industries, such as electronics, that hold promise of future development
- superheavyweight — an amateur boxer weighing more than 91 kg
- supersensitivity — extremely or excessively sensitive; hypersensitive: a supersensitive smoke detector.
- surveyor's chain — a series of objects connected one after the other, usually in the form of a series of metal rings passing through one another, used either for various purposes requiring a flexible tie with high tensile strength, as for hauling, supporting, or confining, or in various ornamental and decorative forms.
- surveyor's level — level (def 8a).
- swine erysipelas — erysipelas (def 2).
- swiss army knife — a small knife with blades and other tools, such as a nail file and corkscrew, all folding into the handle.