12-letter words containing c, w, o
- lower school — a school that is preparatory to one on a more advanced level.
- lower-income — earning less than average
- machine word — word (def 10).
- machine-word — a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning. Words are composed of one or more morphemes and are either the smallest units susceptible of independent use or consist of two or three such units combined under certain linking conditions, as with the loss of primary accent that distinguishes black·bird· from black· bird·. Words are usually separated by spaces in writing, and are distinguished phonologically, as by accent, in many languages.
- macroweather — Longer term average weather, covering period of length between that of weather and climate.
- majolicaware — goods made from majolica
- microbrewery — a brewery producing less than 15,000 barrels per year and usually concentrating on exotic or high quality beer.
- microbrewing — Small-scale commercial brewing, as carried out in a microbrewery.
- microwavable — Of food, that is suitable for cooking in a microwave oven.
- money cowrie — the highly polished, usually brightly colored shell of a marine gastropod of the genus Cypraea, as that of C. moneta (money cowrie) used as money in certain parts of Asia and Africa, or that of C. tigris, used for ornament.
- monkeywrench — Alternative form of monkey wrench.
- network card — network interface controller
- new covenant — (sometimes initial capital letters) (in Christian exegesis) the promises of salvation made by God to humans individually, based on divine grace rather than Mosaic Law.
- new politics — politics concerned more with grass-roots participation in the political process than with party loyalty or affiliation: identified especially with the candidacies of Senators Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern.
- new rochelle — a city in SE New York, near New York City.
- new york cut — a porterhouse steak with the fillet removed.
- on the watch — to be alertly on the lookout, look attentively, or observe, as to see what comes, is done, or happens: to watch while an experiment is performed.
- onward march — the continuing, advancing or improving movement (of situation, etc)
- out of whack — to strike with a smart, resounding blow or blows.
- overcrowding — Fill (accommodations or a space) beyond what is usual or comfortable.
- owl's clover — any of several western American plants belonging to the genus Orthocarpus, of the figwort family, having dense spikes of flowers in a variety of colors with conspicuous bracts.
- owl's-clover — any of a genus (Orthocarpus) of plants of the figwort family of W North and South America; esp., a California species (O. purpurascens) with red or purple upper leaves
- packed tower — A packed tower is a tall distillation vessel which uses packing.
- pasch flower — pasqueflower
- peacock worm — feather-duster worm.
- periodic law — the law that the properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers.
- phonetic law — a statement of some regular pattern of sound change in a specific language, as Grimm's law or Verner's law.
- picture show — motion picture.
- pillow block — a cast-iron or steel block for supporting a journal or bearing.
- plastic flow — deformation of a material that remains rigid under stresses of less than a certain intensity but that behaves under severer stresses approximately as a Newtonian fluid.
- police power — the power of a nation, within the limits of its constitution, to regulate the conduct of its citizens in the interest of the common good.
- poll watcher — a representative of a political party or of an organization running a candidate who is assigned to the polls on an election day to watch for violations of the laws that regulate voting, campaigning, etc.
- postcardware — Shareware that borders on freeware, in that the author requests only that satisfied users send a postcard of their home town or something. (This practice, silly as it might seem, serves to remind users that they are otherwise getting something for nothing, and may also be psychologically related to real estate "sales" in which $1 changes hands just to keep the transaction from being a gift.)
- powder chest — a small wooden box containing a charge of powder, old nails, scrap iron, etc., formerly secured over the side of a ship and exploded on the attempt of an enemy to board.
- power factor — (in an electrical circuit) the ratio of the power dissipated to the product of the input volts times amps
- power vacuum — a situation when a government has no identifiable central authority
- provincetown — a town at the tip of Cape Cod, in SE Massachusetts: resort.
- provincewide — covering or available to the whole of a province
- public works — government-funded construction
- ratchet down — If something ratchets down or is ratcheted down, it decreases by a fixed amount or degree, and seems unlikely to increase again.
- redwood city — a city in W California.
- rice growing — the cultivation of rice as a food crop
- rock wallaby — any wallaby of the genus Petrogale, having a banded or striped coat, slender body, and long legs and feet, inhabiting caves and rocky areas in Australia.
- scapegallows — a criminal who escapes death by hanging or the gallows
- school prawn — a common olive-green prawn, Metapenaeus macleayi
- schoolfellow — a schoolmate.
- screw around — a metal fastener having a tapered shank with a helical thread, and topped with a slotted head, driven into wood or the like by rotating, especially by means of a screwdriver.
- second world — the world's industrialized nations other than the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
- servicewoman — a woman who is a member of the armed forces of a country.
- shadow dance — a dance in which shadows of the dancers are cast on a screen.