16-letter words containing a, r, d
- dispersing agent — a surface-active substance added to a suspension, usually a colloid, to improve the separation of particles and to prevent settling or clumping
- displaced person — a person driven or expelled from his or her homeland by war, famine, tyranny, etc. Abbreviation: DP, D.P.
- display standard — (hardware, standard) IBM and others have introduced a bewildering plethora of graphics and text display standards for IBM PCs. The standards are mostly implemented by plugging in a video display board (or "graphics adaptor") and connecting the appropriate monitor to it. Each new standard subsumes its predecessors. For example, an EGA board can also do CGA and MDA. With the PS/2, IBM introduced the VGA standard and built it into the main system board motherboard. VGA is also available as a plug-in board for PCs from third-party vendors. Also with the PS/2, IBM introduced the 8514 high-resolution graphics standard. An 8514 adaptor board plugs into the PS/2, providing a dual-monitor capability. Graphics software had to support the major IBM graphics standards and many non-IBM, proprietary standards for displays. Either software vendors provided display drivers or display vendors provided drivers for the software package. In either case, switching software or switching display systems was fraught with compatibility problems. More colours are available from third-party vendors for some display types. See also MDA, CGA, EGA, PGA, Hercules, MCGA, VGA, SVGA, 8514, VESA.
- display terminal — Visual Display Unit
- disproportionate — not proportionate; out of proportion, as in size or number.
- disreputableness — The state or quality of being disreputable or disgraceful; disreputability.
- distributionally — In a distributional manner.
- distributive law — a theorem asserting that one operator can validly be distributed over another
- district heating — a heating system in which centrally generated heat is distributed via ducts and pipes to multiple buildings or locations
- distrito federal — Federal District. Abbreviation: D.F.
- diurnal parallax — the apparent displacement of an observed object due to a change in the position of the observer.
- diversifications — Plural form of diversification.
- division algebra — a linear algebra in which each element of the vector space has a multiplicative inverse.
- divisional court — a high court in which at least two judges sit
- do like a dinner — to do for, overpower, or outdo
- do the necessary — to do something that is necessary in a particular situation
- documentary film — factual, informative film
- dolce far niente — pleasing inactivity.
- dollar diplomacy — a government policy of promoting the business interests of its citizens in other countries.
- domestic partner — either member of an unmarried, cohabiting, and especially homosexual couple that seeks benefits usually available only to spouses.
- domestic prelate — an honorary distinction conferred by the Holy See upon clergy, entitling them to some of the privileges of a bishop.
- domestic servant — person employed to do household chores
- domiciliary care — services, such as meals-on-wheels, health visiting, and home help, provided by a welfare agency for people in their own homes
- dominical letter — any one of the letters from A to G used in church calendars to mark the Sundays throughout any particular year, serving primarily to aid in determining the date of Easter.
- dorothy canfield — Dorothy, Fisher, Dorothy Canfield.
- double monastery — a religious community of both men and women who live in separate establishments under the same superior and who worship in a common church.
- double solitaire — a game of solitaire for two persons, each player usually having a pack and layout but pooling foundations with the opponent.
- double-barrelled — A double-barrelled gun has two barrels.
- double-breasting — the practice of employing nonunion workers, especially in a separate division, to supplement the work of higher-paid union workers.
- down memory lane — If you say that someone is taking a walk or trip down memory lane, you mean that they are talking, writing, or thinking about something that happened to them a long time ago.
- drag coefficient — a measure of the drag of an object in a moving fluid, esp air
- drainage channel — a channel along which drained water flows away
- dramatic society — an amateur dramatics club
- draught excluder — a device (such as a strip of wood, or a long cylindrical cushion) placed at the bottom of a door to keep out draughts
- draw and quarter — to disembowel and dismember (a person) after hanging
- draw the longbow — to exaggerate in telling something
- dredging machine — dredge1 (def 1).
- dressing station — a post or center that gives first aid to the wounded, located near a combat area.
- drift transistor — a transistor in which the impurity concentration in the base increases from the collector-base junction to the emitter-base junction, producing a resistivity gradient that greatly increases its high-frequency response
- driver education — a course of study, as for high-school students, that teaches the techniques of driving a vehicle, along with basic vehicle maintenance, safety precautions, and traffic regulations and laws.
- drogue parachute — Also called drogue. a small parachute that deploys first in order to pull a larger parachute from its pack.
- drop (down) dead — If you say that a person or animal dropped dead or dropped down dead, you mean that they died very suddenly and unexpectedly.
- drop a bombshell — If someone drops a bombshell, they give you a sudden piece of bad or unexpected news.
- drug trafficking — smuggling illegal drugs
- drumhead cabbage — acommon type of cabbage with tightly packed leaves and a rounded form with a slightly flattened top
- drumhead service — a religious service attended by members of a military unit while in the field
- drunkard's chair — a low, deep armchair of the 18th century.
- dry distillation — destructive distillation.
- dry-cell battery — a dry battery
- dual carriageway — divided highway.