22-letter words containing a, c, t, o
- cut a long story short — to leave out details in a narration
- cut someone some slack — to be less demanding of someone; ease up on someone
- cycle of reincarnation — A term coined by Ivan Sutherland ca. 1970 to refer to a well-known effect whereby function in a computing system family is migrated out to special-purpose peripheral hardware for speed, then the peripheral evolves toward more computing power as it does its job, then somebody notices that it is inefficient to support two asymmetrical processors in the architecture and folds the function back into the main CPU, at which point the cycle begins again. Several iterations of this cycle have been observed in graphics-processor (blitter) design, and at least one or two in communications and floating-point processors. Also known as "the Wheel of Life", "the Wheel of Samsara" and other variations of the basic Hindu/Buddhist theological idea.
- cylindrical coordinate — Usually, cylindrical coordinates. a member of a system of coordinates for locating a point in space by its polar coordinates and its perpendicular distance to the polar plane.
- cytidine monophosphate — a nucleotide constituent of ribonucleic acids; a phosphoric acid ester of cytidine. Abbreviation: CMP.
- dalton's atomic theory — the theory that matter consists of indivisible particles called atoms and that atoms of a given element are all identical and can neither be created nor destroyed. Compounds are formed by combination of atoms in simple ratios to give compound atoms (molecules). The theory was the basis of modern chemistry
- debt collection agency — a company that collects debts on behalf of creditors
- decimal classification — a system of classifying books in libraries by the use of numbers with decimals
- decompartmentalization — the act of decompartmentalizing
- delayed-action shutter — a camera shutter that opens after an interval set by the photographer
- denominational college — a college associated with a particular religious denomination
- denotational semantics — (theory) A technique for describing the meaning of programs in terms of mathematical functions on programs and program components. Programs are translated into functions about which properties can be proved using the standard mathematical theory of functions, and especially domain theory. Compare axiomatic semantics, operational semantics, standard semantics.
- department of commerce — the department of the U.S. federal government that promotes and administers domestic and foreign commerce. Abbreviation: DOC.
- descriptive cataloging — the aspect of cataloging concerned with the bibliographic and physical description of a book, recording, or other work, accounting for such items as author or performer, title, edition, and imprint as opposed to subject content.
- diachronic linguistics — historical linguistics.
- dicyclopentadienyliron — ferrocene (def 1).
- digital control system — (systems) (DCS) A digital computer used for real-time control of a dynamic system, usually in an industrial environment, possibly as part of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. A DCS samples feedback from the system under control and modifies the control signals in an attempt to achieve some desired behaviour. Analysis of such digital-analogue feedback systems can involve mathematical methods such as difference equations, Laplace transforms, z transfer functions, state space models and state transition matrices.
- digital video recorder — See DVR.
- dilation and curettage — a surgical method for the removal of diseased tissue or an early embryo from the lining of the uterus by means of scraping.
- directional derivative — the limit, as a function of several variables moving along a given line from one specified point to another on the line, of the difference in the functional values at the two points divided by the distance between the points.
- directional microphone — a microphone that has a greater sensitivity to sounds coming from a particular area in front of it: used to eliminate unwanted sounds.
- director of admissions — a member of a university staff who is in overall charge of admissions to the university and its courses
- directory system agent — (DSA) The software that provides the X.500 Directory Service for a portion of the directory information base. Generally, each DSA is responsible for the directory information for a single organisation or organisational unit.
- disciplinary committee — a committee charged with examining alleged breaches of discipline within an organization, profession, etc and adjudicating on them
- distributive education — a special program of vocational education at the high-school level in which a student is employed part-time, receiving on-the-job training, and also attends classes, most of which pertain directly to the student's vocational field.
- dominant seventh chord — a chord consisting of the dominant and the major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh above it. Its most natural resolution is to a chord on the tonic
- double blackwall hitch — a kind of knot
- drumhead court-martial — a court-martial held, usually on a battlefield, for the summary trial of charges of offenses committed during military operations.
- earth inductor compass — a compass actuated by induction from the earth's magnetic field.
- east african community — an association established in 1967 by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to promote closer economic and social ties between member states: dissolved in 1977, but reformed in 1999, and joined in 2007 by Burundi and Rwanda
- ecclesiastical society — (in Congregational churches) a legal corporation with power to sue and be sued and to administer all of the temporalities of the church.
- ectotrophic mycorrhiza — a type of mycorrhiza, typical of temperate and Boreal trees, in which the fungus forms a layer on the outside of the roots of the plant
- educational psychology — a branch of psychology concerned with developing effective educational techniques and dealing with psychological problems in schools.
- educational technology — the use of technology, such as computers, within education, to aid the learning process
- educational television — television of informational or instructional content.
- electroencephalographs — Plural form of electroencephalograph.
- electroencephalography — The measurement of electrical activity in different parts of the brain and the recording of such activity as a visual trace (on paper or on an oscilloscope screen).
- electrolytic capacitor — An electrolytic capacitor is an electrical capacitor with an electrolyte between the two plates.
- electromagnetic moment — a measure of the magnetic strength of a magnet or current-carrying coil, expressed as the torque produced when the magnet or coil is set with its axis perpendicular to unit magnetic flux density. It is measured in ampere metres squared
- electronic mail client — mail user agent
- electrophysiologically — In an electrophysiological way.
- electrothermal printer — a printer that produces characters by burning the image on specially coated paper
- emotional intelligence — empathy and social skills
- employers' association — a body of employers, usually from the same sector of the economy, associated to further the interests of member companies by conducting negotiations with trade unions, providing advice, making representations to other bodies, etc
- end transmission block — (character) (ETB) The mnemonic for ASCII character 23.
- endotrophic mycorrhiza — the most widespread and common type of mycorrhiza, in which the fungus lives within the cells of the roots of the plant
- engineering consultant — a consultant specializing in engineering
- enhanced parallel port — (hardware) (EPP) A parallel port that confirms to the IEEE's EPP standard. An EPP is actually an expansion bus that can handle 64 disk drives and other peripherals.
- every now and then etc — You use every in the expressions every now and then, every now and again, every once in a while, and every so often in order to indicate that something happens occasionally.
- experimental condition — one of the distinct states of affairs or values of the independent variable for which the dependent variable is measured in order to carry out statistical tests or calculations