16-letter words containing sp
- special handling — (in the U.S. Postal Service) the handling of third- and fourth-class mail as first-class upon the payment of a fee.
- special interest — special-interest group (def 1).
- special pleading — Law. pleading that alleges special or new matter in avoidance of the allegations made by the opposite side.
- species-specific — associated with or limited to one species only.
- 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.
- specific impulse — a measure, usually in seconds, of the efficiency with which a rocket engine utilizes its propellants, equal to the number of pounds of thrust produced per pound of propellant burned per second.
- specific surface — The specific surface is the ratio of a particle's surface area to its volume or mass.
- specious present — a short time span in which change and duration are alleged to be directly experienced.
- spectacled cobra — Indian cobra.
- spectrobolometer — an instrument consisting of a spectroscope and a bolometer, for determining the distribution of radiant energy in a spectrum.
- spectrochemistry — the branch of chemistry that deals with the chemical analysis of substances by means of the spectra of light they absorb or emit.
- spectroheliogram — a photograph of the sun made with a spectroheliograph.
- 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
- speech therapist — sb who treats speaking disorders
- speed networking — the practice of trying to form business connections and contacts through meetings at which individuals are given the opportunity to have several conversations of limited duration with strangers
- spelling mistake — error in writing a word
- spherical excess — the difference between the sum of the angles of a spherical triangle and two right angles.
- 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.
- spill one's guts — the alimentary canal, especially between the pylorus and the anus, or some portion of it. Compare foregut, midgut, hindgut.
- spin the platter — a game in which one member of a group spins a platter on its edge and a designated member must catch it before it falls or pay a forfeit.
- spinone italiano — one of an Italian breed of large all-purpose hunting dogs having a short wiry coat, solid white or white with light brown or yellow patches in color.
- spiny-rayed fish — any of various fishes, as basses and perches, that have sharp, often pointed and usually rigid fin spines.
- spiral staircase — stairs that wind round
- spiritual healer — a faith healer
- spiritual incest — marriage or a sexual relationship between persons related by spiritual affinity or with a person under a solemn vow of chastity
- spiritualization — to make spiritual.
- spiritus vinosus — (in prescriptions) spirits of wine; alcohol.
- spit-and-sawdust — (of a pub) shabby, dirty, and basic
- splanchnic nerve — Anatomy. any of several nerves to the viscera and blood vessels of the chest and pelvic areas.
- splanchnopleural — the double layer formed by the association of the lower layer of the lateral plate of mesoderm with the underlying entoderm, which develops into the embryonic viscera.
- split infinitive — an expression in which there is a word or phrase, especially an adverb or adverbial phrase, between to and its accompanying verb form in an infinitive, as in to readily understand.
- 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.
- sports equipment — gear used to play sport
- spotted mackerel — a small mackerel, Scomberomorus queenslandicus, of northern Australian waters
- spotted redshank — a sandpiper, Tringa erythropus, which is a large wader with red legs
- spraying machine — a device for spraying large volumes of liquid, such as insecticide onto crops
- spreader-ditcher — a machine for shaping and cleaning roadbeds and ditches and for freeing tracks of ice and snow by plowing and digging.
- spreading center — a linear zone in the sea floor along which magma rises and from which adjacent crustal plates are moving apart.
- spreading factor — a substance, as hyaluronidase, that promotes the diffusion of a material through body tissues
- spring ephemeral — any of various woodland wildflowers that appear above ground in early spring, flower and fruit, and die in a short two-month period.
- spring mountains — a mountain range in S Nevada extending to the California border. Highest peak, Charleston Peak. 11,919 feet (3635 meters).
- spring snowflake — a European amaryllidaceous plant, Leucojum vernum, with white nodding bell-shaped flowers
- springer spaniel — a dog of either of two breeds of medium-sized spaniels, used for flushing and retrieving game.
- 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.
- sulfarsphenamine — a yellow, water-soluble, arsenic-containing powder, C 1 4 H 1 4 As 2 N 2 Na 2 O 8 S 2 , formerly used in the treatment of syphilis.
- sun in splendour — a representation of the sun with rays and a human face
- suspending agent — A suspending agent is a liquid in which a solid substance can be held in suspension.