15-letter words containing d, e, a, c, o
- audio frequency — a frequency in the range 20 hertz to 20 000 hertz. A sound wave of this frequency would be audible to the human ear
- audio recording — an electronic recording of sound
- audubon society — a North American organization devoted to the conservancy of birds
- autodestructive — likely to cause one's own destruction
- automatic drive — an automotive transmission requiring either very little or no manual shifting of gears.
- autoschediastic — offhand, with little forethought or preparation
- baconian method — induction (def 4a).
- ballroom dancer — a person who participates in ballroom dancing
- bar-code reader — an electronic machine that scans and reads bar codes
- barefoot doctor — (esp in developing countries) a worker trained as a medical auxiliary in a rural area who dispenses medicine, gives first aid, assists at childbirth, etc
- barium chloride — a poisonous compound, BaCl2, consisting of flat white crystals that are soluble in water: it is used to treat water, metals, leather, etc.
- basic autocoder — Early system on IBM 7070. Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959).
- basic education — (in India) education in which all teaching is correlated with the learning of a craft
- basidiomycetous — belonging or pertaining to the basidiomycetes.
- beach goldenrod — a composite plant, Solidago sempervirens, of eastern and southern North America, having a thick stem and large, branched, one-sided terminal clusters of yellow flowers, flourishing on sea beaches or salt marshes.
- ben day process — a method of adding texture, shading, or detail to line drawings by overlaying a transparent sheet of dots or any other pattern during platemaking
- benedict arnold — Benedict, 1741–1801, American general in the Revolutionary War who became a traitor.
- benzal chloride — a colorless, oily liquid, C 7 H 6 Cl 2 , used chiefly in the synthesis of benzaldehyde, and in the manufacture of dyes.
- bidirectionally — in a bidirectional manner
- black horehound — a hairy unpleasant-smelling chiefly Mediterranean plant, Ballota nigra, having clusters of purple flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)
- bladder campion — a European caryophyllaceous plant, Silene vulgaris, having white flowers with an inflated calyx
- blockade runner — a person, ship etc that tries to carry goods through a blockade
- blockade-runner — a ship or person that passes through a blockade.
- blue cattle dog — an Australian breed of dog with a bluish coat, developed for herding cattle
- board-certified — A doctor who is board-certified has passed tests and meets the standards of a board of specialists in their area of medicine.
- borderline case — a person or thing that is not clearly classifiable as something
- borrower's card — a card issued by a library to individuals or organizations entitling them or their representatives to borrow materials.
- breakdown cover — insurance cover against breakdowns in a vehicle
- breeder reactor — a type of nuclear reactor that produces more fissionable material than it consumes
- bronzed grackle — the western subspecies of the American bird, the common grackle, Quiscalus quiscula versicolor, having bronzy, iridescent plumage.
- cache la poudre — a river in N Colorado, flowing N and E to the South Platte River. 126 miles (203 km) long.
- cacodaemoniacal — Demonic; evil.
- cadmean victory — a victory won with great losses to the victors
- caisson disease — decompression sickness
- caldecott award — an annual award in the U.S. for an outstanding illustrated juvenile book.
- calendarization — the process of calendarizing
- calvin coolidge — Calvin, 1872–1933, 30th president of the U.S. 1923–29.
- camphorated oil — a liniment consisting of camphor and peanut oil, used as a counterirritant
- canada moonseed — a vine, Menispermum canadense, of eastern North America, having variable leaves and black, grapelike fruit.
- canadian forces — the official name for the military forces of Canada
- canadian legion — a national social club for veterans of the Canadian armed services.
- carbon monoxide — Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that is produced especially by the engines of vehicles.
- cardinal flower — a campanulaceous plant, Lobelia cardinalis of E North America, that has brilliant scarlet, pink, or white flowers
- cardinal vowels — a set of theoretical vowel sounds, based on the shape of the mouth needed to articulate them, that can be used to classify the vowel sounds of any speaker in any language
- cartesian doubt — willful suspension of all interpretations of experience that are not absolutely certain: used as a method of deriving, by elimination of such uncertainties, axioms upon which to base theories.
- casement-window — a window sash opening on hinges that are generally attached to the upright side of its frame.
- castel gandolfo — a village in central Italy, 15 miles (24 km) SE of Rome: papal palace serving as the summer residence of the pope.
- casters-up mode — [IBM, probably from slang belly up] Yet another synonym for "broken" or "down". Usually connotes a major failure. A system (hardware or software) which is "down" may be already being restarted before the failure is noticed, whereas one which is "casters up" is usually a good excuse to take the rest of the day off (as long as you're not responsible for fixing it).
- catchment board — a public body concerned with the conservation and organization of water supply from a catchment area
- cathedral choir — the choir, traditionally consisting of boys and men, that sings in cathedral services