16-letter words containing d, i, r, l
- central cylinder — stele (def 4).
- cepheid variable — any of a class of variable stars with regular cycles of variations in luminosity (most ranging from three to fifty days). There is a relationship between the periods of variation and the absolute magnitudes, which is used for measuring the distance of such stars
- channel islander — a person who comes from one of the Channel Islands
- charged particle — an atomic particle with a positive or negative charge, as an electron, proton, or helium ion
- charmed particle — See at charmed (def 2).
- chiclet keyboard — (hardware, abuse) A keyboard with a small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like pieces of Chiclets chewing gum. Used especially to describe the original IBM PCjr keyboard. Vendors unanimously liked these because they were cheap, and a lot of early portable and laptop computers were launched with them. Customers rejected the idea with almost equal unanimity, and chiclets are not often seen on anything larger than a digital watch any more.
- child psychiatry — the branch of psychiatry specializing in the treatment of children.
- childcare center — a place or business offering childcare for working parents
- childcare worker — someone who takes care of children in return for money
- 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
- 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.
- chloracetic acid — chloroacetic acid.
- chlordiazepoxide — a chemical compound used as a tranquillizer and muscle relaxant and in the treatment of delirium tremens. Formula: C16H14ClN3O
- chloride of lime — a white powder with the approximate formula CaOCl2, obtained by treating slaked lime with chlorine and used for disinfecting and bleaching
- 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.
- chondrodysplasia — (medicine) A genetic disorder characterized by short-limbed dwarfism.
- christmas island — an island in the Indian Ocean, south of Java: administered by Singapore (1900–58), now by Australia; phosphate mining. Pop: 1496 (2013 est). Area: 135 sq km (52 sq miles)
- chromic chloride — a violet, crystalline compound, CrCl 3 , occurring in both water-soluble and water-insoluble forms, or a green or violet, water-soluble deliquescent compound, CrCl 3 ⋅6H 2 O: used chiefly as a mordant, in chrome-steel plating, and in the synthesis of chromium salts.
- chromic fluoride — a green, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, CrF 3 ⋅4H 2 O or CrF 3 ⋅9H 2 O: used chiefly in printing and dyeing woolens.
- cigarette holder — A cigarette holder is a narrow tube that you can put a cigarette into in order to hold it while you smoke it.
- clarified butter — butter with the water and milk solids removed, used for cooking at high temperatures without burning
- cleaning product — a detergent or other household cleaner
- clearsightedness — The property of being clearsighted.
- clitoridectomies — Plural form of clitoridectomy.
- cloak-and-suiter — a manufacturer or seller of clothing.
- cloistered vault — a vault having the form of a number of intersecting coves.
- coleridge-taylor — Samuel. 1875–1912, British composer, best known for his trilogy of oratorios Song of Hiawatha (1898–1900)
- colorado springs — a city and resort in central Colorado. Pop: 370 448 (2003 est)
- commodity dollar — the unit of a proposed system of currency, that would have a fluctuating gold value determined at regular intervals on the basis of an official index of the prices of key commodities
- community leader — a leading figure in a community
- companion ladder — a ladder that allows sailors to move up and down between the decks of the ship
- convertible bond — a bond that can be exchanged for a fixed number of shares of the common stock of the issuing company at the holder's option.
- correction fluid — a fluid, usually white, that can be painted over a mistake in writing or typing so that the correct form can be written or typed on top
- critical damping — the minimum amount of viscous damping that results in a displaced system returning to its original position without oscillation
- critical density — the density of matter that would be required to halt the expansion of the universe
- cross-validation — a process by which a method that works for one sample of a population is checked for validity by applying the method to another sample from the same population.
- croydon facelift — the tightening effect on the skin of a woman's face caused by securing the hair at the back of the head in a tight ponytail
- curlew sandpiper — a common Eurasian sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea, having a brick-red breeding plumage and a greyish winter plumage
- curmudgeonliness — The state or condition of being curmudgeonly.
- dangling pointer — (programming) A reference that doesn't actually lead anywhere. In C and some other languages, a pointer that doesn't actually point at anything valid. Usually this happens because it formerly pointed to something that has moved or disappeared, e.g. a heap-allocated block which has been freed and reused. Used as jargon in a generalisation of its technical meaning; for example, a local phone number for a person who has since moved is a dangling pointer.
- daylight robbery — If someone charges you a great deal of money for something and you think this is unfair or unreasonable, you can refer to this as daylight robbery.
- de broglie waves — the set of waves that represent the behaviour of an elementary particle, or some atoms and molecules, under certain conditions. The de Broglie wavelength, λ, is given by λ = h/mv, where h is the Planck constant, m the mass, and v the velocity of the particle
- decentralisation — Alternative spelling of decentralization.
- decentralization — to distribute the administrative powers or functions of (a central authority) over a less concentrated area: to decentralize the national government.
- decimal currency — a system of currency in which the monetary units are parts or powers of ten
- decimal fraction — a fraction whose denominator is some power of 10, usually indicated by a dot (decimal point or point) written before the numerator: as 0.4 = 4/10; 0.126 = 126/1000.
- decision problem — (theory) A problem with a yes/no answer. Determining whether some potential solution to a question is actually a solution or not. E.g. "Is 43669" a prime number?". This is in contrast to a "search problem" which must find a solution from scratch, e.g. "What is the millionth prime number?". See decidability.
- deconstructively — In a deconstructive manner.