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23-letter words containing a, c, r, i

  • cauchy integral theorem — the theorem that the integral of an analytic function about a closed curve of finite length in a finite, simply connected domain is zero.
  • caught in the crossfire — If you are caught in the crossfire, you become involved in an unpleasant situation in which people are arguing with each other, although you do not want to be involved or say which person you agree with.
  • center-pivot irrigation — a method of irrigation, used mainly in the western U.S., in which water is dispersed through a long, segmented arm that revolves about a deep well and covers a circular area from a quarter of a mile to a mile in diameter.
  • central processing unit — the part of a computer that performs logical and arithmetical operations on the data as specified in the instructions
  • certificate of registry — a document issued to a U.S. vessel engaged in foreign trade, stating its name, nationality, ownership, etc., and claiming for it all privileges pertaining to U.S. nationality.
  • character assassination — A character assassination is a deliberate attempt to destroy someone's reputation, especially by criticizing them in an unfair and dishonest way when they are not present.
  • characteristic equation — Mathematics. the characteristic polynomial of a given matrix, equated to zero. Also called auxiliary equation. an equation with one variable and equated to zero, which is derived from a given linear differential equation and in which the coefficient and power of the variable in each term correspond to the coefficient and order of a derivative in the original equation.
  • characteristic function — a function that assigns the value 1 to the members of a given set and the value 0 to its nonmembers
  • characteristic velocity — a measure of the effectiveness with which the combustion in a rocket engine produces high temperature and pressure, equal to the exhaust velocity divided by the thrust coefficient.
  • cheyne-stokes breathing — alternating shallow and deep breathing, as in comatose patients
  • chi-square distribution — a continuous single-parameter distribution derived as a special case of the gamma distribution and used esp to measure goodness of fit and to test hypotheses and obtain confidence intervals for the variance of a normally distributed variable
  • chief education officer — an official who is the chief administrative officer of a Local Education Authority
  • chief operating officer — the executive in charge of day-to-day operations in an organization
  • chorionic gonadotrophin — a hormone secreted by the chorionic villi of the placenta in mammals, esp human chorionic gonadotrophin. It promotes the secretion of progesterone by the corpus luteum and its presence in the urine is an indication of pregnancy
  • chronic wasting disease — a disease found among members of the deer family, a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
  • circumstantial evidence — indirect evidence that tends to establish a conclusion by inference
  • citizens' advice bureau — an independent charity where the public can obtain free, confidential information and advice on an extensive range of civil, consumer, and legal matters
  • citrus greening disease — Plant Pathology. a bacterial disease of citrus trees, transmitted by insects of the Psyllidae family.
  • civil aeronautics board — the former federal agency (1938–85) that regulated airline fares and assigned routes. Abbreviation: CAB, C.A.B.
  • client-centered therapy — a nondirective method of psychotherapy in which treatment consists of helping patients to use effectively their own latent resources in solving problems.
  • collision damage waiver — a form of optional collision insurance cover for a vehicle that is being rented
  • columbus air force base — U.S. Air Force installation in NE Mississippi, NW of Columbus.
  • combinatorial chemistry — the use of chemical methods to generate all possible combinations of chemicals
  • come hell or high water — If you say that you will do something come hell or high water, you are emphasizing that you are determined to do it, in spite of the difficulties involved.
  • commercial exploitation — unethical business practices
  • common lisp in parallel — (language, parallel)   (CLIP) A version of Common LISP from Allegro for the Sequent Symmetry.
  • communication breakdown — a lack of communication; a failure to exchange information
  • communication interface — an electronic circuit, usually designed to a specific standard, that enables one machine to telecommunicate with another machine
  • communications software — (communications, software)   Application programs, operating system components, and probably firmware, forming part of a communication system. These different software components might be classified according to the functions within the Open Systems Interconnect model which they provide. Typical applications include a web browser, Mail User Agent, chat and telnet.
  • communist international — Third International.
  • communist-international — an international organization (1919–43), founded in Moscow, uniting Communist groups of various countries and advocating the attainment of their ends by violent revolution. Also called Comintern, Communist International. Compare international (def 6).
  • community health centre — a medical centre that serves a particular area
  • compact disc read-write — Compact Disc Rewritable
  • compact disc recordable — (storage)   (CD-R) A write-once version of CD-ROM. CD-Rs can hold about 650 megabytes of data. They are very durable and can be read by normal CD-ROM drives, but once data has been written it cannot be altered. Standard prerecorded CDs have their information permanently stamped into an aluminium reflecting layer. CD-R discs have a dye-based recording layer and an additional golden reflecting layer. Digital information is written to the disc by burning (forming) pits in the recording layer in a pattern corresponding to that of a conventional CD. The laser beam heats the substrate and recording layer to approximately 250 C. The recording layer melts and the substrate expands into the space that becomes available. See also CD-RW and DVD-RAM.
  • compact disc rewritable — (storage)   (CD-RW) A rewritable version of CD-ROM. A CD-RW drive can write about 650 megabytes of data to CD-RW media an unlimited number of times. Most CD-RW drives can also write once to CD-R media. CD-RW media cannot be read by CD-ROM drives built prior to 1997 due to the reduced reflectivity (15% compared to 70%) of CD-RW media. CD-RW drives and media are currently (1999) more expensive than CD-R drives and media. CD-R is sometimes considered a better technology for archival purposes as the data cannot be accidentally modified or tampered with, and encourages better archival practices. Standard prerecorded CDs have their information permanently stamped into an aluminium reflecting layer. CD-WR discs have a phase-change recording layer and an additional silver (aluminium) reflecting layer. A laser beam can melt crystals in the recording layer into a non-crystalline amorphous phase or anneal them slowly at a lower temperature back to the crystalline state. The different reflectance of the areas make them appear as the 'pits' and 'lands' of a standard CD. See also CD-R and DVD-RAM.
  • comparative advertising — a form of advertising in which a product is compared favourably with similar products on the market
  • comparative linguistics — the study of the correspondences between languages that have a common origin.
  • composite colour signal — a colour television signal in which luminance and two chrominance components are encoded into a single signal
  • computer-aided learning — Computer-Aided Instruction
  • computer-based training — Computer-Aided Instruction
  • computerized tomography — a radiological technique that produces images of cross sections through a patient's body using low levels of radiation
  • conditional convergence — the property of an infinite series that converges while the series formed by replacing each term in the given series with its absolute value diverges; the property of an infinite series that converges when the order of the terms is altered. Compare absolute convergence (def 1).
  • conditional probability — the probability of one event, A, occurring given that another, B, is already known to have occurred: written P(A|B) and equal to P(A and B)|P(B)
  • conformational analysis — the study of the spatial arrangement of atoms or groups of atoms in a molecule and the way in which this influences chemical behaviour
  • conjunctive normal form — (logic)   (CNF) A logical formula consisting of a conjunction of disjunctions of terms where no disjunction contains a conjunction. Such a formula might also be described as a product of sums. E.g. the CNF of (A and B) or C is (A or C) and (B or C). Contrast Disjunctive Normal Form.
  • conservative evaluation — (programming)   Under this parallel evaluation strategy, no evaluation is started unless it is known to be needed. The opposite of conservative evaluation is speculative evaluation.
  • consolidated deliveries — deliveries of goods to different shops in a common location by a single carrier and in a single vehicle
  • constant of gravitation — a law stating that any two masses attract each other with a force equal to a constant (constant of gravitation) multiplied by the product of the two masses and divided by the square of the distance between them.
  • constant of integration — a constant that is added to the function obtained by evaluating the indefinite integral of a given function, indicating that all indefinite integrals of the given function differ by, at most, a constant.
  • constitutional monarchy — a monarchy governed according to a constitution that limits and defines the powers of the sovereign
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