16-letter words containing d, e, s, c
- audience figures — the number of people regularly watching a television programme or listening to a radio programme
- auditory vesicle — the pouch that is formed by the invagination of an ectodermal placode and that develops into the internal ear.
- back-seat driver — If you refer to a passenger in a car as a back-seat driver, they annoy you because they constantly give you advice.
- background noise — any type of noise that is not the sound that you are specifically listening to or monitoring
- balearic islands — a group of islands in the W Mediterranean, consisting of Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Cabrera, and 11 islets: a province of Spain. Capital: Palma, on Majorca. Pop: 1 071 500 (2003 est). Area: 5012 sq km (1935 sq miles)
- banned substance — In sport, banned substances are drugs that competitors are not allowed to take because they could artificially improve their performance.
- basic dichromate — an orange-red, amorphous, water-insoluble powder, Bi 2 O 3 ⋅2CrO 3 , used chiefly as a pigment in paints.
- bastard culverin — a 16th-century cannon, smaller than a culverin, firing a shot of between 5 and 8 pounds (11 and 17.6 kg).
- bearish tendency — a tendency for share prices to fall
- black nightshade — a poisonous solanaceous plant, Solanum nigrum, a common weed in cultivated land, having small white flowers with backward-curved petals and black berry-like fruits
- black-eyed susan — any of several North American plants of the genus Rudbeckia, esp R. hirta, having flower heads of orange-yellow rays and brown-black centres: family Asteraceae (composites)
- block-structured — (language) Any programming language in which sections of source code contained within pairs of matching delimiters such as "" and "" (e.g. in C) or "begin" and "end" (e.g. Algol) are executed as a single unit. A block of code may be the body of a subroutine or function, or it may be controlled by conditional execution (if statement) or repeated execution (while statement, for statement, etc.). In all but the most primitive block structured languages a variable's scope can be limited to the block in which it is declared. Block-structured languages support structured programming where each block can be written without detailed knowledge of the inner workings of other blocks, thus allowing a top-down design approach. See also abstract data type, module.
- bordelaise sauce — a dark sauce made from meat stock, flour, wine, onions, seasonings, etc., served over broiled meat
- border leicester — a breed of sheep originally developed in the border country between Scotland and England by crossing English Leicesters with Cheviots: large numbers in Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand. It has a long white fleece with no wool on the head
- bouches-du-rhone — a department of S central France, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Capital: Marseille. Pop: 1 883 645 (2003 est). Area: 5284 sq km (2047 sq miles)
- braking distance — the distance a vehicle travels from the point at which its brakes are applied to the point at which it comes to a stop
- building society — In Britain, a building society is a business which will lend you money when you want to buy a house. You can also invest money in a building society, where it will earn interest. Compare savings and loan association.
- cadmium sulphide — an orange or yellow insoluble solid used as a pigment in paints, etc (cadmium yellow). Formula: CdS
- canada bluegrass — a Eurasian grass, Poa compressa, naturalized in North America, having creeping rootstocks and bluish-green leaves.
- canadian english — the English language as spoken in Canada
- canadian soldier — the mayfly.
- canine distemper — distemper1 (def 1a).
- capsule wardrobe — a collection of clothes and accessories that includes only items considered essential
- carbon bisulfide — carbon disulfide
- carbon disulfide — a heavy, volatile, colorless liquid, CS2, highly flammable and poisonous, used as a solvent, insecticide, etc.
- carboxypeptidase — any of several digestive enzymes that catalyze the removal of an amino acid from the end of a peptide chain having a free carbonyl group.
- cardiac neurosis — an anxiety reaction characterized by quick fatigue, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and other cardiac symptoms, but not caused by disease of the heart.
- cardinal numbers — Also called cardinal numeral. any of the numbers that express amount, as one, two, three, etc. (distinguished from ordinal number).
- cardinal virtues — the most important moral qualities, traditionally justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude
- cards and spades — a generous handicap
- careers guidance — advice and information about careers that helps individuals, esp young people, decide on a career and also teaches them how to pursue their chosen career
- careless driving — the offence of driving without due care
- caroline islands — an archipelago of over 500 islands and islets in the W Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines, all of which are now part of the Federated States of Micronesia, except for the Palau group: formerly part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; centre of a typhoon zone. Area: (land) 1183 sq km (457 sq miles)
- cascade molecule — a synthetic polymer with a branching, treelike structure; a type of macromolecule in which chains radiate out from a central atom or cluster of atoms to transfer genetic material to living cells.
- cascade particle — the least massive member of the xi particle family.
- 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.
- castellated beam — a rolled metal beam the web of which is first divided by a lengthwise zigzag cut, then welded together so as to join the peaks of both halves, thus increasing its depth and strength.
- casting director — the person in charge of choosing of actors for a production
- catch a few zeds — to have a nap
- cause and effect — You use cause and effect to talk about the way in which one thing is caused by another.
- cause-and-effect — noting a relationship between actions or events such that one or more are the result of the other or others.
- ceske budejovice — a city in the S Czech Republic, on the Vltava (Moldau) River. Pop: 94 747 (2007 est)
- chagas---disease — an infectious disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, occurring chiefly in tropical America and characterized by irregular fever, palpable lymph nodes, and often heart damage.
- channel islander — a person who comes from one of the Channel Islands
- chanson de geste — one of a genre of Old French epic poems celebrating heroic deeds, the most famous of which is the Chanson de Roland
- charles chandler — Charles Frederick, 1836–1925, U.S. scientist, educator, and public-health expert.
- chase the dragon — to smoke opium or heroin
- checking deposit — a deposit on which cheques may be drawn
- cheddar (cheese) — a variety of hard, smooth cheese, mild to very sharp
- chest of drawers — A chest of drawers is a low, flat piece of furniture with drawers in which you keep clothes and other things.