16-letter words containing c, o, u, p, s
- photoluminescent — luminescence induced by the absorption of infrared radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation.
- phytosuccivorous — feeding on sap, as certain sucking insects.
- pick up stompies — to come late to a conversation and so misunderstand what is being discussed
- picture postcard — postcard (def 1).
- pneumonoconiosis — pneumoconiosis.
- pocono mountains — ridge of the Appalachians, in E Pa.: resort area: c. 2,000 ft (610 m) high
- poitou-charentes — a region of W central France, on the Bay of Biscay: mainly low-lying
- political asylum — asylum provided by one nation to refugees, especially political refugees, from another nation.
- pre-subscription — a sum of money given or pledged as a contribution, payment, investment, etc.
- primary consumer — (in the food chain) an animal that feeds on plants; a herbivore.
- process industry — business of treating raw materials
- production costs — the costs used in manufacturing a product
- promiscuous mode — (networking) Where a node on a network accepts all packets, regardless of their destination address.
- prosecution case — the case brought against someone by a legal authority
- prosthetic group — the nonprotein acid constituent of a conjugate protein, as the heme group of hemoglobin.
- pseudo-patriotic — of, like, suitable for, or characteristic of a patriot.
- pseudo-political — of, relating to, or concerned with politics: political writers.
- pseudo-realistic — interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real or practical: a realistic estimate of costs; a realistic planner.
- pseudo-scientist — any of various methods, theories, or systems, as astrology, psychokinesis, or clairvoyance, considered as having no scientific basis.
- pseudocopulation — pollination of plants, esp orchids, by male insects while attempting to mate with flowers that resemble the female insect
- pseudohistorical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- pseudoparenchyma — (in certain fungi and red algae) a compact mass of tissue, made up of interwoven hyphae or filaments, that superficially resembles plant tissue.
- pseudoscientific — any of various methods, theories, or systems, as astrology, psychokinesis, or clairvoyance, considered as having no scientific basis.
- psychoimmunology — the branch of medicine studying the effects of psychological phenomena on the immune system; the intersection of psychology and immunology.
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- public relations — (used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
- public schoolboy — a boy attending a public school, or a man who attended one
- public transport — fare-paying travel
- punctuationalism — punctuated equilibrium.
- purchasing power — Also called buying power. the ability to purchase goods and services.
- put a sock in it — be quiet!
- quasi-compulsory — required; mandatory; obligatory: compulsory education.
- quasi-diplomatic — of, relating to, or engaged in diplomacy: diplomatic officials.
- queen's champion — a hereditary official at British coronations, representing the king (King's Champion) or the queen (Queen's Champion) who is being crowned, and having originally the function of challenging to mortal combat any person disputing the right of the new sovereign to rule.
- reinsurance pool — the grouping of insurers that provide partial or complete insurance coverage to other insurers for (a risk on which a policy has already been issued)
- report structure — A report structure is a structure containing a reporting clause and a reported clause or a quote.
- reporting clause — A reporting clause is a clause which indicates that you are talking about what someone said or thought. For example, in 'She said that she was hungry', 'She said' is a reporting clause.
- self-consumption — the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.
- self-exculpatory — intended to excuse oneself from blame or guilt
- self-preoccupied — preoccupied by one's own concerns
- self-pronouncing — having the pronunciation indicated, especially by diacritical marks added on original spellings rather than by phonetic symbols: a self-pronouncing dictionary.
- self-reproducing — to make a copy, representation, duplicate, or close imitation of: to reproduce a picture.
- single occupancy — a type of travel accommodation, as at a hotel, for one person in a room.
- specious present — a short time span in which change and duration are alleged to be directly experienced.
- speech community — the aggregate of all the people who use a given language or dialect.
- 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.
- sql access group — (body) The origanisaton which defined Call-Level Interface, on which ODBC is based. It is now part of X/Open.
- stage production — a play or show which is performed on stage
- start-up company — new business
- stop-loss clause — a limitation on the amount of loss sustained by the insured without compensation in a given period.