17-letter words containing a, c, t, o, s

critical constant — any of three constants associated with the critical point of a pure element or compound.
cross one's heart — to promise or pledge, esp by making the sign of a cross over one's heart
cross-correlation — the correlation between two sequences of random variables in a time series
cross-examination — to examine by questions intended to check a previous examination; examine closely or minutely.
cross-lot bracing — bracing extending from one side of an excavation to the opposite to retain the earth on both sides.
cross-pollination — the transfer of pollen from the anthers of one flower to the stigma of another flower by the action of wind, insects, etc
cross-utilization — to make use of in an additional or different way.
cryopreservations — the storage of blood or living tissues at extremely cold temperatures, often -196 degrees Celsius.
cryptocrystalline — (of rocks) composed of crystals that can be distinguished individually only by the use of a polarizing microscope
customs brokerage — the work of a customs broker
customs clearance — the permission to take goods into or out of a country once customs requirements have been satisfied
cut a person dead — to ignore a person completely
cutaneous quittor — a purulent infection of horses and other hoofed animals, characterized by an acute inflammation of soft tissue above the hoof and resulting in suppuration and sloughing of the skin and usually lameness.
cypriot syllabary — a syllabic script in use on Cyprus in the first millennium b.c., used for the writing of Greek and of an unknown language.
cytomegaloviruses — Plural form of cytomegalovirus.
cytotrophoblastic — Relating to, or containing, cytotrophoblasts.
de facto standard — A widespread consensus on a particular product or protocol which has not been ratified by any official standards body, such as ISO, but which nevertheless has a large market share. The archetypal example of a de facto standard is the IBM PC which, despite is many glaring technical deficiencies, has gained such a large share of the personal computer market that it is now popular simply because it is popular and therefore enjoys fierce competition in pricing and software development.
de-specialization — the act of specializing, or pursuing a particular line of study or work: Medical students with high student loans often feel driven into specialization.
decriminalisation — (chiefly, British) Alternative form of decriminalization.
dehistoricization — The process or result of dehistoricizing.
delay instruction — delayed control-transfer
dephlogisticating — Present participle of dephlogisticate.
despotic monarchy — absolute monarchy.
dessert chocolate — cooking chocolate
desynchronisation — (British spelling) Alternative form of desynchronization.
desynchronization — to cause to indicate the same time, as one timepiece with another: Synchronize your watches.
diatonic semitone — the pitch difference between certain adjacent degrees of the diatonic scale
diaz del castillo — Bernal [ber-nahl] /bɛrˈnɑl/ (Show IPA), 1492–1581, Spanish soldier-historian of the conquest of Mexico.
dipterocarpaceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Dipterocarpaceae, a family of trees chiefly native to tropical SE Asia, having two-winged fruits. Many species yield useful timber and resins
disaster recovery — (business) (DR) Planning and implementation of procedures and facilities for use when essential systems are not available for a period long enough to have a significant impact on the business, e.g. when the head office is blown up. Disasters include natural: fire, flood, lightning, hurricane; hardware: power failure, component failure, head crash; software failure: bugs, resources; vandalism: arson, bombing, cracking, theft; data corruption or loss: human error, media failure; communications: computer network equipment, network storm, telephones; security: passwords compromised, computer virus; legal: change in legislation; personnel: unavailability of essential staff, industrial action. Companies need to plan for disaster: before: risk analysis, preventive measures, training; during: how should staff and systems respond; after: recovery measures, post mortem analysis. Hardware can usually be replaced and is usually insured. Software and data needs to be backed up off site. Alternative communication systems should be arranged in case of network failure or inaccessible premises, e.g. emergency telephone number, home working, alternative data center.
discomgoogolation — a feeling of anxiety felt by someone who is unable to access the internet
disidentification — The act of disidentifying, or rejecting a personal or group identity.
disqualifications — Plural form of disqualification.
disruptive action — action performed by protestors, workers, etc that causes the disruption of a service
dissociated press — [Play on "Associated Press"; perhaps inspired by a reference in the 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon "What's Up, Doc?"] An algorithm for transforming any text into potentially humorous garbage even more efficiently than by passing it through a marketroid. The algorithm starts by printing any N consecutive words (or letters) in the text. Then at every step it searches for any random occurrence in the original text of the last N words (or letters) already printed and then prints the next word or letter. Emacs has a handy command for this. Here is a short example of word-based Dissociated Press applied to an earlier version of the Jargon File: wart: A small, crocky feature that sticks out of an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention to the medium in question. Here is a short example of letter-based Dissociated Press applied to the same source: window sysIWYG: A bit was named aften /bee't*/ prefer to use the other guy's re, especially in every cast a chuckle on neithout getting into useful informash speech makes removing a featuring a move or usage actual abstractionsidered interj. Indeed spectace logic or problem! A hackish idle pastime is to apply letter-based Dissociated Press to a random body of text and vgrep the output in hopes of finding an interesting new word. (In the preceding example, "window sysIWYG" and "informash" show some promise.) Iterated applications of Dissociated Press usually yield better results. Similar techniques called "travesty generators" have been employed with considerable satirical effect to the utterances of Usenet flamers; see pseudo.
district attorney — an officer who acts as attorney for the people or government within a specified district.
dollars-and-cents — considered strictly in terms of money: from a dollars-and-cents viewpoint.
douglas macarthur — Douglas, 1880–1964, U.S. general: supreme commander of allied forces in SW Pacific during World War II and of UN forces in Korea 1950–51.
ductus arteriosis — a fetal blood vessel that connects the left pulmonary artery directly to the descending aorta, normally closing after birth.
ectoparasiticides — Plural form of ectoparasiticide.
elastic stockings — something made of elastic which you wear on your legs to aid circulation
electric constant — the permittivity of free space, which has the value 8.854 187 × 10–12 farad per metre
electroanesthesia — Anesthesia induced by cranial electrotherapy stimulation.
electrostatically — In an electrostatic manner, by electrostatic means.
elementary school — primary school
emergency rations — food and drink that is designated for use in an emergency: for example, in a famine, after a plane crash, when hill-walkers or mountaineers are stranded, etc.
encephalomyelitis — Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, typically due to acute viral infection.
epistemologically — In a manner that pertains to epistemology.
executive mansion — the White House (in Washington, D.C.), official home of the President of the U.S.
facsimile catalog — a catalog that includes small reproductions of the items listed, as paintings, slides, designs, or the like.

Was this page helpful?

Yes No

Thank you for your feedback! Tell your friends about this page

Tell us why?