16-letter words containing c, h, e, r, n
- byzantine church — Orthodox Church (def 1).
- caducibranchiate — (of many amphibians, such as frogs) having gills during one stage of the life cycle only
- camborne-redruth — a former (until 1974) urban district in SW England, in Cornwall: formed in 1934 by the amalgamation of the neighbouring towns of Camborne and Redruth. Pop: 39 936 (2001)
- carnot's theorem — the principle that no engine operating between two given temperatures can be more efficient than a Carnot engine operating between the same temperatures.
- carpatho-ukraine — a region in W Ukraine: ceded by Czechoslovakia in 1945.
- carpenter gothic — (sometimes initial capital letters) a style of Victorian Gothic architecture adapted to the resources of contemporary woodworking tools and machinery.
- cash on delivery — If you pay for goods cash on delivery, you pay for them in cash when they are delivered. The abbreviation C.O.D. is also used.
- catch red-handed — If someone is caught red-handed, they are caught while they are in the act of doing something wrong.
- catchwater drain — a channel cut along the edge of high ground to catch surface water from it and divert it away from low-lying ground
- catherine howard — Catherine, c1520–42, fifth wife of Henry VIII.
- centrally heated — A centrally heated building or room has central heating.
- chalon-sur-saône — an industrial city in E central France, on the Saône River. Pop: 50 124 (1999)
- chance one's arm — to attempt to do something although the chance of success may be slight
- chancellorsville — hamlet in NE Va. (now called Chancellor): site of a Civil War battle (May, 1863) won by Confederate forces
- channel crossing — a crossing of the English Channel
- channel islander — a person who comes from one of the Channel Islands
- character string — a series of characters that can be manipulated as a group, but do not necessarily represent anything
- characterisation — (British spelling) Alternative form of characterization.
- characterization — Characterization is the way an author or an actor describes or shows what a character is like.
- charles chandler — Charles Frederick, 1836–1925, U.S. scientist, educator, and public-health expert.
- charles coughlin — Charles Edward ("Father Coughlin") 1891–1979, U.S. Roman Catholic priest, activist, radio broadcaster, and editor, born in Canada.
- chase the dragon — to smoke opium or heroin
- chattel personal — an item of movable personal property, such as furniture, domestic animals, etc
- chattering class — well-educated members of the upper-middle or upper class who freely express especially liberal opinions or judgments on current issues and events.
- chechen republic — a constituent republic of S Russia, on the N slopes of the Caucasus Mountains: major oil and natural gas resources; formed an Autonomous Republic with Ingushetia from 1936 until 1944 and from 1957 until 1991; declared independence from Ingushetia in 1992; fighting between Chechen separatists and Russian forces (1994–96) led to de facto independence: reoccupied by Russia in 1999–2000. Capital: Grozny. Pop: 1 100 300 (2002). Area: 15 700 sq km (6010 sq miles)
- check-in counter — The check-in counter at an airport or hotel is the counter or desk where you check in.
- checkout counter — a checkout
- chernobyl packet — (networking) /cher-noh'b*l pak'*t/ A network packet that induces a broadcast storm and/or network meltdown, named in memory of the April 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl in Ukraine. The typical scenario involves an IP Ethernet datagram that passes through a gateway with both source and destination Ethernet address and IP address set as the respective broadcast addresses for the subnetworks being gated between. Compare Christmas tree packet.
- chew the scenery — to overact, as in a play or film
- chian turpentine — turpentine (def 2).
- chicken mushroom — an edible yellow-to-orange bracket fungus, Laetiporus sulphureus, common on tree trunks, in which it causes wood decay.
- childcare center — a place or business offering childcare for working parents
- children's panel — (in Scotland) a group of representatives of relevant agencies, with the power to deal with a child under sixteen who is in criminal or family trouble. Its hearings are private and replace most of the functions of juvenile courts
- chilean firebush — South American shrub with scarlet flowers
- chilli con carne — Chilli con carne is a dish made from minced meat, vegetables, and powdered or fresh chillies.
- chinese calendar — the former calendar of China, in which the year consisted of 12 lunar months with an intercalary month added seven times every 19 years to reconcile the lunar year of 354 days with the solar year of 365 days, time being reckoned in 60-year cycles with the first cycle dating from 2637 b.c.
- chinese checkers — a game played on a board with holes arranged in the shape of a six-pointed star, by from two to six players, the winner being the one who first moves his or her set of marbles across the board
- chinese chequers — a board game played with marbles or pegs
- chinese crescent — crescent (def 6).
- chinese primrose — any plant of the genus Primula, as P. vulgaris (English primrose) of Europe, having yellow flowers, or P. sinensis (Chinese primrose) of China, having flowers in a variety of colors. Compare primrose family.
- chinese shar-pei — Shar-Pei.
- chinese whispers — a game in which a message is passed on, in a whisper, by each of a number of people, so that the final version of the message is often radically changed from the original
- chinese wisteria — a high-climbing Chinese vine, Wisteria sinensis, of the legume family, having hanging clusters of fragrant, bluish-violet flowers and long, velvety pods.
- chlorinated lime — bleaching powder.
- chlorine dioxide — a compound used to bleach wood pulp
- chlorogenic acid — a colorless crystalline acid, C 16 H 18 O 9 , that is important in plant metabolism and is purportedly responsible for the browning or blackening of cut apples, potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables.
- chlorophenol red — an acid-base indicator, C 19 H 12 Cl 2 O 5 S, that changes color from yellow to red as the acidity of a solution decreases.
- chlorophenothane — DDT.
- chlorpheniramine — an antihistaminic compound, C 20 H 23 ClN 2 O 4 , used in treating the symptoms of allergies.
- cholera infantum — an often fatal form of gastroenteritis occurring in infants, not of the same cause as cholera but having somewhat similar characteristics.