8-letter words containing a, u
- cournand — André (Frederic). 1895–1988, US physician, born in France: shared the 1956 Nobel prize for physiology or medicine for his work on heart catheterization
- courtrai — a town in W Belgium, in West Flanders on the Lys River: the largest producer of linen in W Europe. Pop: 73 984 (2004 est)
- cousteau — Jacques Yves (ʒɑk iv). 1910–97, French underwater explorer
- couvades — a practice among some peoples, as the Basques of Spain, in which a man, immediately preceding the birth of his child, takes to his bed in an enactment of the birth experience and subjects himself to various taboos usually associated with pregnancy.
- cpu wars — /C-P-U worz/ A 1979 large-format comic by Chas Andres chronicling the attempts of the brainwashed androids of IPM (Impossible to Program Machines) to conquer and destroy the peaceful denizens of HEC (Human Engineered Computers). This rather transparent allegory featured many references to ADVENT and the immortal line "Eat flaming death, minicomputer mongrels!" (uttered, of course, by an IPM stormtrooper). It is alleged that the author subsequently received a letter of appreciation on IBM company stationery from the head of IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Laboratories (then, as now, one of the few islands of true hackerdom in the IBM archipelago). The lower loop of the B in the IBM logo, it is said, had been carefully whited out. See eat flaming death.
- crack up — If someone cracks up, they are under such a lot of emotional strain that they become mentally ill.
- crank up — If you crank up a machine or device, you start it.
- crank-up — an act or instance of cranking up.
- crankous — fretful; cranky
- crap out — to make a losing throw in craps
- crateful — (informal) As much as a crate would hold.
- creature — You can refer to any living thing that is not a plant as a creature, especially when it is of an unknown or unfamiliar kind. People also refer to imaginary animals and beings as creatures.
- crotalum — a type of castanet, often used in religious dances in ancient Greece
- croupade — a type of horse leap in which the hind legs are drawn towards the belly
- cruciate — shaped or arranged like a cross
- crudware — /kruhd'weir/ Pejorative term for the hundreds of megabytes of low-quality freeware circulated by user's groups and BBSs in the micro-hobbyist world.
- crumenal — a purse
- crunodal — of or relating to a crunode
- crusaded — (often initial capital letter) any of the military expeditions undertaken by the Christians of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries for the recovery of the Holy Land from the Muslims.
- crusader — A crusader for a cause is someone who does a lot in support of it.
- crusades — (often initial capital letter) any of the military expeditions undertaken by the Christians of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries for the recovery of the Holy Land from the Muslims.
- crustate — having a crust or shell
- cryonaut — a person whose dead body has been preserved by the technique of cryonics.
- cubature — the determination of the cubic contents of something
- cube van — a van with a cube-shaped storage compartment that is wider and taller than the front of the vehicle
- cubicula — a burial chamber, as in catacombs.
- cuboidal — Also, cuboidal. resembling a cube in form.
- cucquean — (obsolete) A woman whose husband is unfaithful to her.
- cue ball — the ball struck by the cue, as distinguished from the object balls
- cue card — a card, unseen by the audience, carrying dialogue, lyrics, etc. as an aid to a television performer
- culdesac — Alternative spelling of cul-de-sac.
- culiacan — a city in NW Mexico, capital of Sinaloa state. Pop: 799 000 (2005 est)
- culinary — Culinary means concerned with cooking.
- culpable — If someone or their conduct is culpable, they are responsible for something wrong or bad that has happened.
- culpably — deserving blame or censure; blameworthy.
- cultivar — a variety of a plant that was produced from a natural species and is maintained by cultivation
- cultrate — shaped like a knife blade
- cultural — Cultural means relating to a particular society and its ideas, customs, and art.
- cumacean — any small malacostracan marine crustacean of the Cumacea family, mostly dwelling on the sea bed but sometimes found among the plankton
- cumarone — a colourless insoluble aromatic liquid obtained from coal tar and used in the manufacture of synthetic resins. Formula: C 8H 6O
- cumbrian — of or relating to Cumbria or its inhabitants
- cumstain — Lb vulgar A stain from ejaculate.
- cumulant — (mathematics) Any of a set of parameters of a one-dimensional probability distribution of a certain form.
- cumulate — to accumulate
- cunabula — a cradle
- cuneatic — cuneiform; cuneate.
- cupboard — A cupboard is a piece of furniture that has one or two doors, usually contains shelves, and is used to store things. In British English, cupboard refers to all kinds of furniture like this. In American English, closet is usually used instead to refer to larger pieces of furniture.
- cupcakes — Plural form of cupcake.
- cupolaed — having a cupola
- cuprates — Plural form of cuprate.