20-letter words containing m, a
- computability theory — (mathematics) The area of theoretical computer science concerning what problems can be solved by any computer. A function is computable if an algorithm can be implemented which will give the correct output for any valid input. Since computer programs are countable but real numbers are not, it follows that there must exist real numbers that cannot be calculated by any program. Unfortunately, by definition, there isn't an easy way of describing any of them! In fact, there are many tasks (not just calculating real numbers) that computers cannot perform. The most well-known is the halting problem, the busy beaver problem is less famous but just as fascinating.
- computer programming — the activity or profession of writing computer programs
- computing dictionary — Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
- conformal projection — a map projection in which angles formed by lines are preserved: a map made using this projection preserves the shape of any small area.
- congressman-at-large — (in the US) a member of the House of Representatives who was elected by the voters of an entire state as opposed to the voters of a single Congressional district
- conservation of mass — the principle that the total mass of any isolated system is constant and is independent of any chemical and physical changes taking place within the system
- conservative judaism — a movement reacting against the radicalism of Reform Judaism, rejecting extreme change and advocating moderate relaxations of traditional Jewish law, by an extension of the process by which its adherents claim traditional Orthodox Judaism evolved
- constituent assembly — A constituent assembly is a body of representatives that is elected to create or change their country's constitution.
- construction company — a business enterprise concerned with the construction of buildings, bridges, etc
- contact metamorphism — localized metamorphism resulting from the heat of an igneous intrusion.
- context-free grammar — (grammar) (CFG) A grammar where the syntax of each constituent (syntactic category or terminal symbol) is independent of the symbols occuring before and after it in a sentence. A context-free grammar describes a context-free language. Context-free grammars can be expressed by a set of "production rules" or syntactic rules. For example, a language with symbols "a" and "b" that must occur in unequal numbers can be represented by the CFG: S → U | V U → TaU | TaT | UaT V → TbV | TbT | VbT T → aTbT | bTaT | ε meaning the top-level category "S" consists of either a "U" or a "V" and so on. The special category "ε" represents the empty string. This grammar is context-free because each rule has a single symbol on its left-hand side.
- coordination complex — one of a number of complex compounds in which an atom or group of atoms is bound to the central atom by a shared pair of electrons supplied by the coordinated group and not by the central atom
- council-manager plan — (in the US) a system of local government with an elected legislative council and an appointed administrative manager
- counterdemonstration — a demonstration that is held in reaction to another demonstration
- court of st. james's — the British royal court: so called from St. James's Palace, London, the former scene of royal receptions.
- cream of tomato soup — a creamy soup made from tomatoes
- creative imagination — the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses.
- credit card terminal — A credit card terminal is a piece of equipment that you use to read the information on a credit card and charge a cost to it.
- crime against nature — Law. sodomy.
- crime and punishment — a novel (1866) by Feodor Dostoevsky.
- criminal proceedings — action taken in a court to bring a criminal prosecution against someone
- criminal syndicalism — the doctrine of recourse to acts of violence or terrorism, or the advocacy of such acts, as a means of effecting economic or political change: proscribed by statute in many U.S. states.
- critical temperature — the temperature of a substance in its critical state. A gas can only be liquefied by pressure alone at temperatures below its critical temperature
- cross someone's palm — to give someone money
- cross someone's path — to meet or thwart someone
- darkfield microscope — kind of microscope
- daylight saving time — Daylight Saving Time is a period of time in the summer when the clocks are set one hour forward, so that people can have extra light in the evening.
- daylight-saving time — the civil time observed when daylight saving is adopted in a country or community.
- de la madrid hurtado — Miguel [mee-gel] /miˈgɛl/ (Show IPA), 1934–2012, Mexican political leader: president 1982–88.
- declaratory judgment — a judgment that merely decides the rights of parties in a given transaction, situation, or dispute but does not order any action or award damages.
- decompartmentalizing — Present participle of decompartmentalize.
- dementia pugilistica — chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
- democracy in america — French Démocracie en Amérique. a study (1835) by Alexis de Tocqueville of American political institutions.
- democratic socialism — socialism, or a modified form of socialism, achieved by a gradual transition by and under democratic political processes.
- demographic timebomb — a predicted shortage of school-leavers and consequently of available workers, caused by an earlier drop in the birth rate, resulting in an older workforce
- department of energy — the department of the U.S. federal government that sets forth and maintains the national energy policy, including energy conservation, environmental protection, etc. Abbreviation: DOE.
- department of health — government ministry for health matters
- desmopressin acetate — a vasopressin analogue, C 46 H 64 N 14 O 12 S 2 , used in the treatment of diabetes insipidus.
- determinate cleavage — cell division in a fertilized or unfertilized egg resulting in daughter cells that are no longer able to produce a complete embryo by themselves
- development planning — the planning of the development of an area of land
- dewey decimal system — a frequently used system of library book classification and arrangement with ten main subject classes
- diammonium phosphate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble compound, (NH 4) 2 HPO 4 , used as fertilizer, in fire extinguishers, etc.
- diamond in the rough — a diamond in its natural state
- diamond skin disease — a form of swine erysipelas in which diamond-shaped skin inflammations appear, often accompanied by swollen joints.
- diamondback terrapin — any edible North American terrapin of the genus Malaclemys, esp M. terrapin, occurring in brackish and tidal waters and having diamond-shaped markings on the shell: family Emydidae
- dichloroethyl formal — a colorless liquid, C 5 H 10 O 2 Cl 2 , used chiefly as a solvent and in the manufacture of certain synthetic rubbers.
- difference amplifier — A difference amplifier is a device that amplifies the difference between two inputs, rejecting any signals common to both.
- digital lempel ziv 1 — (algorithm) (DLZ1) A Lempel-Ziv compression algorithm which maps variable length input strings to variable length output symbols. During compression, the algorithm builds a dictionary of strings which is accessed by means of a hash table. Compression occurs when input data matches a string in the table and is replaced with the output symbol. DLZ1 is used on Digital Linear Tape.
- digital media player — Digital Technology. a portable electronic device or a software program that plays and stores digital audio or video files in various formats.
- dimensional analysis — a method for comparing the dimensions of the physical quantities occurring in a problem to find relationships between the quantities without having to solve the problem completely. Compare dimension (def 6).