17-letter words containing e, f
- centrifugal brake — a safety mechanism on a hoist, crane, etc, that consists of revolving brake shoes that are driven outwards by centrifugal force into contact with a fixed brake drum when the rope drum revolves at excessive speed
- centrifugal force — In physics, centrifugal force is the force that makes objects move outwards when they are spinning around something or travelling in a curve.
- centripetal force — a force that acts inwards on any body that rotates or moves along a curved path and is directed towards the centre of curvature of the path or the axis of rotation
- certified teacher — a teacher who has the required credentials to teach in a particular place
- character defense — a personality trait, as a habitual tendency to idealize or rationalize, that serves some unconscious defensive purpose.
- charge d'affaires — A chargé d'affaires is a person appointed to act as head of a diplomatic mission in a foreign country while the ambassador is away.
- charter of rights — a section of the Canadian Constitution containing a statement of the basic rights of citizens of Canada.
- cherchez la femme — look for the woman
- choanoflagellates — Plural form of choanoflagellate.
- church of england — The Church of England is the main church in England. It has the Queen as its head and it does not recognize the authority of the Pope.
- class-a amplifier — an electronic amplifier in which the output current flows for the whole of the input signal cycle
- class-b amplifier — an electronic amplifier in which the output flows for half of the input signal cycle
- class-c amplifier — an electronic amplifier in which the output current flows for less than half of the input cycle
- clifden nonpareil — a handsome nocturnal moth, Catocala fraxini, that is brown with bluish patches on the hindwings: related to the red underwing
- clinical efficacy — Clinical efficacy is a measure of how well a treatment succeeds in achieving its aim.
- cloverleaf aerial — a type of aerial, having three or four similar coplanar loops arranged symmetrically around an axis, to which in-phase signals are fed
- cock of the woods — pileated woodpecker.
- code of behaviour — the generally accepted rules governing how people behave
- code of hammurabi — a Babylonian legal code of the 18th century b.c. or earlier, instituted by Hammurabi and dealing with criminal and civil matters.
- coffee-table book — A coffee-table book is a large expensive book with a lot of pictures, which is designed to be looked at rather than to be read properly, and is usually placed where people can see it easily.
- coin of the realm — legal tender.
- coliform bacteria — a large group of bacteria inhabiting the intestinal tract of humans and animals that may cause disease and whose presence in water is an indicator of faecal pollution
- college professor — a lecturer or researcher who works in a college
- comedie francaise — the French national theatre, founded in Paris in 1680
- comedy of manners — a comedy dealing with the way of life and foibles of a social group
- common difference — the positive or negative constant added to each term in an arithmetic progression
- complete fracture — a bone fracture in which the bone is split completely across.
- compound fracture — A compound fracture is a fracture in which the broken bone sticks through the skin.
- computer confetti — (jargon) (Or "chad") A common term for punched-card chad, which, however, does not make good confetti, as the pieces are stiff and have sharp corners that could injure the eyes.
- conference centre — a large venue designed for conferences often consisting of a large hall as well as a number of smaller lecture rooms and other facilities
- connecting flight — a flight taken from an airport other than that from which the journey began, and which is taken in a different aeroplane from that used for the previous stage of the journey
- conscript fathers — august legislators, esp Roman senators
- consolidated fund — a fund into which tax revenue is paid in order to meet standing charges, esp interest payments on the national debt
- contempt of court — Contempt of court is the criminal offence of disobeying an instruction from a judge or a court of law.
- continental drift — Continental drift is the slow movement of the Earth's continents towards and away from each other.
- continental shelf — The continental shelf is the area which forms the edge of a continent, ending in a steep slope to the depths of the ocean.
- contraflow system — a system of traffic lanes whose normal direction is reversed to allow traffic to move during repairs or an accident
- copious free time — (jargon) (Apple; originally from the introduction to Tom Lehrer's song "It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier") Used ironically to indicate the speaker's lack of the quantity in question; a mythical schedule slot for accomplishing tasks held to be unlikely or impossible. Sometimes used to indicate that the speaker is interested in accomplishing the task, but believes that the opportunity will not arise. "I'll implement the automatic layout stuff in my copious free time." The phrase is also used for time reserved for bogus or otherwise idiotic tasks, such as implementation of bad chrome, or the stroking of suits. "I'll get back to him on that feature in my copious free time."
- corporal of horse — a noncommissioned rank in the British Household Cavalry above that of sergeant and below that of staff sergeant
- council of europe — an association of European states, established in 1949 to promote unity between its members, defend human rights, and increase social and economic progress
- counter-influence — the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others: He used family influence to get the contract.
- counteroffensives — Plural form of counteroffensive.
- court of chancery — (in the US) a court of equity
- court of sessions — any of state courts of criminal jurisdiction in California, New York, and a few other states.
- court-of-chancery — chancery (def 4a).
- cream of the crop — the best of a group
- creature comforts — Creature comforts are the things that you need to feel comfortable in a place, for example good food and modern equipment.
- creature of habit — If you say that someone is a creature of habit, you mean that they usually do the same thing at the same time each day, rather than doing new and different things.
- credit facilities — a type of loan made by a bank
- cross of lorraine — a cross with two horizontal bars above and below the midpoint of the vertical bar, the lower longer than the upper