20-letter words containing a, v, e, r
- on o's best behavior — If someone is on their best behavior, they are trying very hard to behave well.
- operator overloading — overloading
- oscillating universe — a variant model of the closed universe in which the universe undergoes cycles of expansion and contraction.
- over-intellectualize — to seek or consider the rational content or form of.
- overenthusiastically — With excessive enthusiasm.
- ovo-lacto vegetarian — a vegetarian who eats eggs and dairy products
- ovo-lacto-vegetarian — lacto-ovo-vegetarian.
- palos verdes estates — a town in S California.
- patent foramen ovale — a congenital heart defect resulting from failure of the foramen ovale to close shortly after birth.
- pave the way for sth — If one thing paves the way for another, it creates a situation in which it is possible or more likely that the other thing will happen.
- peruvian mastic tree — a pepper tree, Schinus molle.
- population inversion — a condition of matter in which more electrons are in a high energy state than in a lower energy state, as is required for the operation of a laser.
- post-order traversal — traversal
- postal delivery zone — zone (def 10).
- pound cost averaging — a method of accumulating capital by investing a fixed sum in a particular security at regular intervals, in order to achieve an average purchase price below the arithmetic average of the market prices on the purchase dates
- practical imperative — (in Kantian ethics) the dictum that one should treat oneself and all humanity as an end and never as a means.
- predicate nominative — (in Latin, Greek, and certain other languages) a predicate noun or adjective in the nominative case.
- prescriptive grammar — an approach to grammar that is concerned with establishing norms of correct and incorrect usage and formulating rules based on these norms to be followed by users of the language.
- preservation society — a society dedicated to the preservation of something, especially a building, environment, or animal
- price-dividend ratio — the ratio of the price of a share on a stock exchange to the dividends per share paid in the previous year, used as a measure of a company's potential as an investment
- prima facie evidence — evidence sufficient to establish a fact or to raise a presumption of fact unless rebutted.
- prima-facie evidence — evidence that is sufficient to establish a fact or to raise a presumption of the truth of a fact unless controverted
- primitive polynomial — a polynomial that has content equal to 1. Compare content1 (def 11a).
- private investigator — private detective. Abbreviation: PI, p.i., P.I.
- proactive inhibition — the tendency for earlier memories to interfere with the retrieval of material learned later
- read-eval-print loop — (language, LISP, programming) (REPL) A programming structure within LISP which repeatedly reads a form from the user, evaluates it, and displays the result. A read-eval-print loop forms the basis of the Top-Level shell that programmers of the LISP family of languages interact with. In many dialects of LISP a very simple REPL could be implemented as: (loop (print (eval (read)))). (2003-06-23)
- receivables turnover — A receivables turnover is a measure of cash flow that is calculated by dividing net credit sales by average accounts receivable.
- recreational vehicle — a van or utility vehicle used for recreational purposes, as camping, and often equipped with living facilities. Abbreviation: RV.
- recuperative furnace — a furnace having its incoming air heated by exhaust gases, the passage of air and gases through the furnace being always in the same direction.
- redcar and cleveland — a unitary authority in NE England, in North Yorkshire: formerly (1975–96) part of Cleveland county. Pop: 139 100 (2003 est). Area: 240 sq km (93 sq miles)
- regenerative braking — Regenerative braking is a form of braking in electric vehicles in which the loss of kinetic energy from braking is stored and then fed back later to provide power to the electric motor.
- regenerative cooling — Physics. a method of cooling a gas, utilizing the rapid expansion of a compressed portion of the gas, before it becomes liquid, to cool the remainder.
- regenerative furnace — a furnace in which the incoming air is heated by regenerators.
- regional development — aid-giving to poorer areas or countries
- relative atomic mass — the ratio of the average mass per atom of the naturally occurring form of an element to one-twelfth the mass of an atom of carbon-12
- relative conjunction — a conjunction that introduces a relative clause
- relative deprivation — the perception of an unfair disparity between one's situation and that of others.
- relative probability — a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined as the limit of the proportion observed in a sample as the sample size tends to infinity
- reminder advertising — a type of advertising designed to remind customers that an existing or well-known product is still available and for sale
- republic of maldives — a republic occupying an archipelago of 1087 coral islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka: came under British protection in 1887; became independent in 1965 and a republic in 1968; member of the Commonwealth (1982–2016). The economy and infrastructure were severely damaged in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. Official language: Divehi. Official religion: (Sunni) Muslim. Currency: rufiyaa. Capital: Malé. Pop: 393 988 (2013 est). Area: 298 sq km (115 sq miles)
- reservations manager — A reservations manager at a hotel is responsible for the reservations at the hotel.
- restrictive covenant — a covenant with a clause that restricts the action of any party to it, especially an agreement among property owners not to sell to members of particular minority groups.
- restrictive practice — Restrictive practices are ways in which people involved in an industry, trade, or profession protect their own interests, rather than having a system which is fair to the public, employers, and other workers.
- return of the native — a novel (1878) by Thomas Hardy.
- reversionary annuity — an annuity payable to a beneficiary during the period of time he or she survives the insured.
- romantic involvement — the condition of being in a romantic or sexual relationship
- roof over one's head — If you have a roof over your head, you have somewhere to live.
- sales representative — a person or organization designated by a company to solicit business on its behalf in a specified territory or foreign country: I suggest you contact our Chicago sales representative.
- scavenger's daughter — an instrument of torture that doubled over and squeezed the body so strongly and violently that blood was brought forth from the ears and nose: invented in 16th-century England.
- sensitivity training — a form of group therapy designed to develop understanding of oneself and others through free, unstructured discussion.