18-letter words containing e, c, t, h
- cut one's teeth on — to use at an early age or stage
- cyclic pitch lever — a lever in a helicopter to change the angle of attack of individual rotor blades, causing the helicopter to move forwards, backwards, or sideways
- cytoarchitectonics — Cytoarchitecture.
- death by chocolate — a very rich type of chocolate dessert or cake
- death-valley curve — a curve on a graph showing how the capital of a new company plotted against time declines sharply as the venture capital is used up before income reaches predicted levels
- dechristianization — The act of dechristianizing; the systematic removal of Christianity or Christian elements.
- dendrochronologist — One who carries out dendrochronology.
- depth-first search — (algorithm) A graph search algorithm which extends the current path as far as possible before backtracking to the last choice point and trying the next alternative path. Depth-first search may fail to find a solution if it enters a cycle in the graph. This can be avoided if we never extend a path to a node which it already contains. Opposite of breadth first search. See also iterative deepening.
- dermot macmurrough — ?1110–71, king of Leinster, who, by enlisting the support of the English to win back his kingdom, was responsible for the English conquest of Ireland
- destruct mechanism — a mechanism that causes the destruction of a rocket or missile when activated
- diatomaceous earth — an unconsolidated form of diatomite
- dichloracetic acid — a highly corrosive acid. Formula: C2H2Cl2O2
- dielectric heating — the heating of a nonconducting substance caused by dielectric loss when the material is placed in a variable electric field.
- digital switchover — the process of changing the method of transmitting television from analogue to digital format
- digital technology — the branch of scientific or engineering knowledge that deals with the creation and practical use of digital or computerized devices, methods, systems, etc.: advances in digital technology.
- dihydrotachysterol — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble sterol, C 28 H 46 O, derived from ergosterol: used chiefly in the treatment of hypoparathyroidism.
- diphosphoglycerate — an ester of phosphoric acid and glyceric acid that occurs in the blood and that promotes the release of hemoglobin-bound oxygen.
- diphtheria vaccine — a vaccine used to produce immunity against diphtheria
- diplomatic shuttle — a series of diplomatic visits to other states made by an official, such as an ambassador or envoy
- discharge printing — a fabric-printing method in which the material is dyed and then certain areas are discharged so as to permit the original hue or its color replacement to act as a pattern against the colored ground.
- disenfranchisement — to disfranchise.
- dispatch documents — documents sent with a parcel, etc, detailing information such as contents, delivery address, etc
- dispensing chemist — a shop where drugs and medicines are sold or given out
- double achievement — a representation of the arms of a husband beside those of his wife such that a difference of rank between them is shown.
- drinking chocolate — sweetened cocoa powder
- drop in the bucket — a deep, cylindrical vessel, usually of metal, plastic, or wood, with a flat bottom and a semicircular bail, for collecting, carrying, or holding water, sand, fruit, etc.; pail.
- duchenne dystrophy — the most common form of muscular dystrophy, usually affecting only boys
- dysthymic disorder — a psychiatric disorder characterized by generalized depression that lasts for at least a year
- eighty-column mind — (abuse) The sort said to be possessed by persons for whom the transition from punched card to paper tape was traumatic (nobody has dared tell them about disks yet). It is said that these people, including (according to an old joke) the founder of IBM, will be buried "face down, 9-edge first" (the 9-edge being the bottom of the card). This directive is inscribed on IBM's 1402 and 1622 card readers and is referenced in a famous bit of doggerel called "The Last Bug", the climactic lines of which are as follows: He died at the console Of hunger and thirst. Next day he was buried, Face down, 9-edge first. The eighty-column mind is thought by most hackers to dominate IBM's customer base and its thinking. See fear and loathing, card walloper.
- electric discharge — electricity emitted
- electrocardiograph — A machine used for electrocardiography.
- electrophotography — Any of several methods of photocopying in which an image is created and then transferred between surfaces using static electricity.
- electrotherapeutic — Relating to electrotherapeutics.
- elementary teacher — a teacher in an elementary school
- emmenthal (cheese) — a hard, pale-yellow Swiss cheese with a mild flavor and large holes
- established church — a Church that is officially recognized as a national institution, esp the Church of England
- ethical investment — an investment in a company whose activities or products are not considered by the investor to be unethical
- ethnomusicological — Relating to or pertaining to ethnomusicology.
- ethnopsychological — Relating to ethnopsychology.
- euclid's algorithm — (algorithm) (Or "Euclidean Algorithm") An algorithm for finding the greatest common divisor (GCD) of two numbers. It relies on the identity gcd(a, b) = gcd(a-b, b) To find the GCD of two numbers by this algorithm, repeatedly replace the larger by subtracting the smaller from it until the two numbers are equal. E.g. 132, 168 -> 132, 36 -> 96, 36 -> 60, 36 -> 24, 36 -> 24, 12 -> 12, 12 so the GCD of 132 and 168 is 12. This algorithm requires only subtraction and comparison operations but can take a number of steps proportional to the difference between the initial numbers (e.g. gcd(1, 1001) will take 1000 steps).
- exclusive brethren — one of the two main divisions of the Plymouth Brethren, which, in contrast to the Open Brethren, restricts its members' contacts with those outside the sect
- executive chairman — the most senior internal position within a company, combining the duties of chairman and chief executive
- farm the long acre — to graze cows on the verge of a road
- fifth monarchy men — (during the Commonwealth in the 17th century) a militant sect of Puritans who identified the fifth monarchy with the millennial reign of Christ and who believed they should help to inaugurate that reign by force.
- fly in the face of — to move through the air using wings.
- forensic chemistry — the application of facts concerning chemistry to questions of civil and criminal law.
- fourth commandment — “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy”: fourth of the Ten Commandments.
- fracture toughness — The fracture toughness of a material is how likely it is to resist fracture.
- french west africa — a former French federation in W Africa, including Dahomey (now Benin), French Guinea, French Sudan (now Mali), Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Upper Volta (now Burkina Fasso).
- french west indies — islands in the West Indies that belong to France, including two overseas departments (Martinique & Guadeloupe) & several former dependencies of Guadeloupe