20-letter words containing a, l, o, u, e
- bouvier des flandres — any of a breed of large, strong dog with a rough, wiry coat and pointed, erect ears
- brown lung (disease) — a chronic disease of the lungs caused by inhalation of fine textile fibers, esp. cotton; byssinosis
- calcium hypochlorite — a white, crystalline compound, Ca(OCl) 2 , used as a disinfectant and bleaching agent.
- calculus of pleasure — (in utilitarianism) appraisal of possible alternative choices in terms of the amount of pleasure to be gained and pain to be avoided in each.
- call someone's bluff — to challenge someone to give proof of his claims
- card up one's sleeve — a plan or resource kept secret or held in reserve
- catastrophic failure — Catastrophic failure is sudden and complete failure which cannot be put right.
- cellular respiration — the oxidation of organic compounds that occurs within cells, producing energy for cellular processes.
- cellulose triacetate — a triacetic ester of cellulose characterized by its resistance to most solvents, used chiefly in the manufacture of textile fibers.
- checkbook journalism — the practice of paying for a news story or an interview, or for exclusive broadcasting or publishing rights.
- chemolithoautotrophs — Plural form of chemolithoautotroph.
- chemotherapeutically — By means of chemotherapy.
- child support agency — the British government agency concerned with the welfare of children
- clothes manufacturer — a business concern that manufactures clothes
- college of education — a professional training college for teachers
- collegiate institute — (in certain provinces) a large secondary school with an academic, rather than vocational, emphasis
- colloidal suspension — a mixture having particles of one component, with diameters between 10 −7 and 10 −9 metres, suspended in a continuous phase of another component. The mixture has properties between those of a solution and a fine suspension
- colorado blue spruce — blue spruce.
- colour look-up table — colour palette
- compensation culture — a culture in which people are very ready to go to law over even relatively minor incidents in the hope of gaining compensation
- complaints procedure — a prescribed method of lodging a complaint to an institution
- complementary colour — one of any pair of colours, such as yellow and blue, that give white or grey when mixed in the correct proportions
- complete unification — (programming) W.P. Weijland's name for unification without occur check.
- computability theory — (mathematics) The area of theoretical computer science concerning what problems can be solved by any computer. A function is computable if an algorithm can be implemented which will give the correct output for any valid input. Since computer programs are countable but real numbers are not, it follows that there must exist real numbers that cannot be calculated by any program. Unfortunately, by definition, there isn't an easy way of describing any of them! In fact, there are many tasks (not just calculating real numbers) that computers cannot perform. The most well-known is the halting problem, the busy beaver problem is less famous but just as fascinating.
- condensation nucleus — nucleus (def 5).
- constituent assembly — A constituent assembly is a body of representatives that is elected to create or change their country's constitution.
- controlled substance — a drug regulated by the Federal Controlled Substances Acts, including opiates, depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens
- copulative asyndeton — a staccato effect produced by omitting copulative connectives between two or more items in a group, as in “Friends, Romans, countrymen.”.
- council-manager plan — (in the US) a system of local government with an elected legislative council and an appointed administrative manager
- counter-inflationary — designed to reduce inflation
- counterproliferation — Action intended to prevent an increase or spread in the possession of nuclear weapons.
- counterrevolutionary — Counterrevolutionary activities are activities intended to reverse the effects of a previous revolution.
- court of last resort — (in the US) a supreme court
- crude oil evaluation — Crude oil evaluation is the process of assessing the chemical and physical properties of crude oil, against particular standards.
- de la madrid hurtado — Miguel [mee-gel] /miˈgɛl/ (Show IPA), 1934–2012, Mexican political leader: president 1982–88.
- declaratory judgment — a judgment that merely decides the rights of parties in a given transaction, situation, or dispute but does not order any action or award damages.
- deinstitutionalizing — Present participle of deinstitutionalize.
- developing-out paper — a sensitized printing paper requiring development in order to bring out the image. Abbreviation: D.O.P.
- devil's bit scabious — a similar and related Eurasian marsh plant, Succisa pratensis
- dictionary catalogue — a catalogue of the authors, titles, and subjects of books in one alphabetical sequence
- differential housing — the casing that houses the differential of a motor vehicle
- diisobutyl phthalate — a clear, colorless liquid, C 14 H 26 O 4 , used chiefly as a plasticizer for nitrocellulose.
- dirac delta function — delta function.
- discounted cash flow — a technique for appraising an investment that takes into account the different values of future returns according to when they will be received
- distribution channel — trade: retailer
- double fertilization — the fertilization process characteristic of flowering plants, in which one sperm cell of a pollen grain fertilizes an egg cell while a second fuses with two polar nuclei to produce a triploid body that gives rise to the endosperm.
- double-aspect theory — a monistic theory that holds that mind and body are not distinct substances but merely different aspects of a single substance
- double-trailer truck — tandem trailer (def 1).
- drum and bugle corps — a marching band of drum players and buglers.
- drunk and disorderly — If someone is charged with being drunk and disorderly, they are charged with being drunk and behaving in a noisy, offensive, or violent way in public.