18-letter words containing c, h, e, a
- congregate housing — a type of housing in which each individual or family has a private bedroom or living quarters but shares with other residents a common dining room, recreational room, or other facilities.
- connected subgraph — (mathematics) A connected graph consisting of a subset of the nodes and edges of some other graph.
- considered harmful — (programming, humour) A type of phrase based on the title of Edsger W. Dijkstra's famous note in the March 1968 Communications of the ACM, "Goto Statement Considered Harmful", which fired the first salvo in the structured programming wars. Amusingly, the ACM considered the resulting acrimony sufficiently harmful that it will (by policy) no longer print articles taking so assertive a position against a coding practice. In the ensuing decades, a large number of both serious papers and parodies bore titles of the form "X considered Y". The structured-programming wars eventually blew over with the realisation that both sides were wrong, but use of such titles has remained as a persistent minor in-joke.
- continental shield — any of the large, low-lying areas in the Earth's crust that are composed of Precambrian crystalline rocks
- continuation sheet — (in a document) a page that continues from the one before it, containing similar information
- controllable-pitch — (of a marine or aircraft propeller) having blades whose pitch can be changed during navigation or flight; variable-pitch.
- conversation chair — an English chair of the 18th century designed to be straddled facing the back of the chair with the elbows resting on the crest rail: an English imitation of the voyeuse.
- copper naphthenate — a green salt, soluble in benzene, used as an insecticide and a wood preservative, but harmless to plants.
- cornucopian thesis — the belief that, as long as science and technology continue to advance, growth can continue for ever because these new advances create new resources
- coronation chicken — a dish of cold cooked chicken in a mild creamy curry sauce
- corpuscular theory — the theory, originally proposed by Newton, and revived with the development of the quantum theory, that light consists of a stream of particles
- cot death syndrome — the unexplained sudden death of an infant during sleep
- countertherapeutic — Working against a therapy.
- cranial osteopathy — osteopathy that focuses on the cranium and the spine
- creatine phosphate — phosphocreatine.
- crested flycatcher — any of various tyrant flycatchers (esp. genus Myiarchus) with a prominent crest
- crested wheatgrass — a forage grass, Agropyron cristatum, native to Eurasia and grown in the Great Plains as pasturage, hay, and for erosion control.
- crystal microphone — a microphone that uses a piezoelectric crystal to convert sound energy into electrical energy
- cunninghame graham — R(obert) B(ontine). 1852–1936, Scottish traveller, writer, and politician, noted for his essays and short stories: first president (1928) of the Scottish Nationalist Party
- cytoarchitectonics — Cytoarchitecture.
- death by chocolate — a very rich type of chocolate dessert or cake
- death-valley curve — a curve on a graph showing how the capital of a new company plotted against time declines sharply as the venture capital is used up before income reaches predicted levels
- decachlorobiphenyl — (organic compound) The fully chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyl containing ten chlorine atoms.
- dechristianization — The act of dechristianizing; the systematic removal of Christianity or Christian elements.
- depth-first search — (algorithm) A graph search algorithm which extends the current path as far as possible before backtracking to the last choice point and trying the next alternative path. Depth-first search may fail to find a solution if it enters a cycle in the graph. This can be avoided if we never extend a path to a node which it already contains. Opposite of breadth first search. See also iterative deepening.
- dermot macmurrough — ?1110–71, king of Leinster, who, by enlisting the support of the English to win back his kingdom, was responsible for the English conquest of Ireland
- destruct mechanism — a mechanism that causes the destruction of a rocket or missile when activated
- diatomaceous earth — an unconsolidated form of diatomite
- dichloracetic acid — a highly corrosive acid. Formula: C2H2Cl2O2
- dielectric heating — the heating of a nonconducting substance caused by dielectric loss when the material is placed in a variable electric field.
- digital switchover — the process of changing the method of transmitting television from analogue to digital format
- digital technology — the branch of scientific or engineering knowledge that deals with the creation and practical use of digital or computerized devices, methods, systems, etc.: advances in digital technology.
- dihydrotachysterol — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble sterol, C 28 H 46 O, derived from ergosterol: used chiefly in the treatment of hypoparathyroidism.
- diphosphoglycerate — an ester of phosphoric acid and glyceric acid that occurs in the blood and that promotes the release of hemoglobin-bound oxygen.
- diphtheria vaccine — a vaccine used to produce immunity against diphtheria
- diplomatic shuttle — a series of diplomatic visits to other states made by an official, such as an ambassador or envoy
- discharge printing — a fabric-printing method in which the material is dyed and then certain areas are discharged so as to permit the original hue or its color replacement to act as a pattern against the colored ground.
- disenfranchisement — to disfranchise.
- dispatch documents — documents sent with a parcel, etc, detailing information such as contents, delivery address, etc
- dodecadodecahedral — Having the form of a dodecadodecahedron.
- dodecadodecahedron — (geometry) A nonconvex polyhedron with twenty-four faces, thirty vertices, and sixty edges.
- double achievement — a representation of the arms of a husband beside those of his wife such that a difference of rank between them is shown.
- dr. james h. clark — (person) The founder of Silicon Graphics, Inc. and co-founder of Netscape Communications Corporation.
- drinking chocolate — sweetened cocoa powder
- each and every one — all
- echeverria alvarez — Luis [lwees] /lwis/ (Show IPA), born 1922, Mexican political leader: president 1970–76.
- echoencephalograph — a device that employs reflected ultrasonic waves to examine the position of brain structures.
- economic geography — a branch of geography that deals with the relation of physical and economic conditions to the production and utilization of raw materials and their manufacture into finished products.
- eggshell porcelain — a type of very thin translucent porcelain originally made in China
- electric discharge — electricity emitted