18-letter words containing o, e, c, u
- counterintuitively — In a manner contrary to intuition or common sense.
- counterprogramming — the practice of scheduling a program opposite another program, esp. a popular one, that appeals to a different kind of audience, as in placing a romantic film directed at women opposite a sports program mainly watched by men
- counterproposition — a proposition made in place of or in opposition to a preceding one.
- counterreformation — a reform movement to oppose a previous one
- counterrevolutions — Plural form of counterrevolution.
- countertherapeutic — Working against a therapy.
- countryside agency — (in England) a government agency that promotes the conservation and enjoyment of the countryside and aims to stimulate employment in rural areas
- court of exchequer — (formerly) an English civil court where Crown revenue cases were tried
- court of st. james — the British royal court
- crude oil desalter — A crude oil desalter is equipment which removes inorganic salts from crude oil, using chemical or electrostatic separation.
- crude oil fraction — A crude oil fraction is a component of crude oil, which has its own particular molecular composition, weight, and boiling point.
- cry one's eyes out — to weep bitterly
- cumulative scoring — a method of scoring in which the score of a partnership is taken as the sum of their scores on all hands played.
- cursor dipped in x — (jargon) The metaphorical source of the electronic equivalent of a poisoned-pen letter. Derived from English metaphors of the form "pen dipped in X" (where X = e.g. "acid", "bile", "vitriol"). These map over neatly to this hackish usage (the cursor being what moves, leaving letters behind, when one is composing on-line). "Talk about a nastygram! He must've had his cursor dipped in acid when he wrote that one!"
- curvature of field — a monochromatic aberration of a lens or other optical system in which the focal surface is curved, the refracted image of an object oriented perpendicular to the axis of the lens lying on a curved surface rather than in a plane perpendicular to the axis.
- curvature of space — (in relativity) a property of space near massive bodies in which their gravitational field causes light to travel along curved paths.
- cushing's syndrome — a medical condition characterized by obesity, hypertension, excessive hair growth, etc., caused by an overactive adrenal gland or large doses of corticosteroids
- custodial sentence — a sentence given by a court that involves a term of imprisonment
- customer relations — Customer relations are the relationships that a business has with its customers and the way in which it treats them.
- customs and excise — Customs and Excise is a British government department which is responsible for collecting taxes on imported and exported goods. Compare Customs Service.
- customs inspection — an inspection carried out by a customs department
- cut one's eyeteeth — to become experienced or sophisticated
- cut one's teeth on — to use at an early age or stage
- cut-and-waste code — (humour, programming) Code that someone found online (e.g. in a blog) and copied and pasted into a product. The result is usually a lot of wasted time trying to track down obscure bugs from code that may have made sense in the original context but not in the new one. Also known as blog-driven development.
- decision procedure — a procedure, as an algorithm, for determining in a finite number of steps the validity of any of a certain class of propositions.
- deep-discount bond — a fixed-interest security that pays little or no interest but is issued at a substantial discount to its redemption value, thus largely substituting capital gain for income
- defense calculator — IBM 701
- deficiency account — an account summarizing the financial condition of an individual or company in danger of bankruptcy.
- 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
- developing country — a nonindustrialized poor country that is seeking to develop its resources by industrialization
- diaminofluorescein — (organic compound) A fluorescein into which two amino groups have been substituted.
- diamondback turtle — 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
- diatomaceous earth — an unconsolidated form of diatomite
- diplomatic shuttle — a series of diplomatic visits to other states made by an official, such as an ambassador or envoy
- discourse analysis — the study of the rules or patterns characterizing units of connected speech or writing longer than a sentence.
- disorderly conduct — any of various petty misdemeanors, generally including nuisances, breaches of the peace, offensive or immoral conduct in public, etc.
- dispatch documents — documents sent with a parcel, etc, detailing information such as contents, delivery address, etc
- distance education — education in which students receive instruction over the Internet, from a video, etc., instead of going to school.
- distribution curve — the curve or line of a graph in which cumulative frequencies are plotted as ordinates and values of the variate as abscissas.
- do oneself justice — If you do yourself justice, you do something as well as you are capable of doing it.
- dominican republic — a republic in the West Indies, occupying the E part of the island of Hispaniola. 19,129 sq. mi. (49,545 sq. km). Capital: Santo Domingo.
- domremy-la-pucelle — a village in Lorraine, NE France, SW of Nancy: birthplace of Joan of Arc.
- 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.
- down on one's luck — the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I'll probably get pneumonia.
- dramatic monologue — a poetic form in which a single character, addressing a silent auditor at a critical moment, reveals himself or herself and the dramatic situation.
- driver's education — high-school driving classes
- 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
- due process of law — the administration of justice in accordance with established rules and principles
- dysfunctionalities — Plural form of dysfunctionality.