12-letter words containing o, k, a
- broken water — a patch of water whose surface is rippled or choppy, usually surrounded by relatively calm water.
- brooks range — a mountain range in N Alaska. Highest peak: Mount Isto, 2761 m (9058 ft)
- brooks's law — (programming) "Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later" - a result of the fact that the expected advantage from splitting work among N programmers is O(N) (that is, proportional to N), but the complexity and communications cost associated with coordinating and then merging their work is O(N^2) (that is, proportional to the square of N). The quote is from Fred Brooks, a manager of IBM's OS/360 project and author of "The Mythical Man-Month". The myth in question has been most tersely expressed as "Programmer time is fungible" and Brooks established conclusively that it is not. Hackers have never forgotten his advice; too often, management still does. See also creationism, second-system effect, optimism.
- brown canker — a fungous disease of roses, characterized by leaf and flower lesions, stem cankers surrounded by a reddish-purple border, and dieback.
- brown hackle — an artificial fly having a peacock herl body, golden tag and tail, and brown hackle.
- bucket about — (esp of a boat in a storm) to toss or shake violently
- bullock cart — a cart pulled by one or two bullocks
- burkina faso — an inland republic in W Africa: dominated by Mossi kingdoms (10th–19th centuries); French protectorate established in 1896; became an independent republic in 1960; consists mainly of a flat savanna plateau. Official language: French; Mossi and other African languages also widely spoken. Religion: mostly animist, with a large Muslim minority. Currency: franc. Capital: Ouagadougou. Pop: 17 812 961 (2013 est). Area: 273 200 sq km (105 900 sq miles)
- cantankerous — Someone who is cantankerous is always finding things to argue or complain about.
- cape nordkyn — a cape in N Norway: the northernmost point of the European mainland
- cape-lookout — Cape, a sandy reef in the Outer Banks, off E North Carolina, SW of Cape Hatteras: lighthouse.
- capitol peak — a mountain in W central Colorado, in the Elk range of the Rocky Mountains. 14,130 feet (4310 meters).
- carbon black — a black finely divided form of amorphous carbon produced by incomplete combustion of natural gas or petroleum: used to reinforce rubber and in the manufacture of pigments and ink
- cargo pocket — a large patch pocket, usually pleated at the sides and often having a flap.
- carving fork — a large, two-tined fork with a metal guard to protect the hand, used to hold meat in place as it is being carved
- cavity block — a precast concrete block that contains a cavity or cavities
- chain locker — a compartment where the chain or cable of an anchor is stowed when the anchor is raised.
- chain smoker — person: smokes heavily
- chain-smoker — A chain-smoker is a person who chain-smokes.
- changchiakou — Zhangjiakou
- changepocket — a small pocket or compartment for holding coins.
- chapter book — a children's book, typically a work of fiction, of moderate length and complexity, divided into chapters and intended for readers approximately seven to ten years old
- charity work — unpaid work, usually fundraising, done in aid of a charity
- checkerboard — A checkerboard is a square board with 64 black and white squares that is used for playing checkers or chess.
- chestnut oak — any of several North American oaks, as Quercus prinus, having serrate or dentate leaves resembling those of the chestnut.
- chickahominy — a member of a North American Indian tribe of the Powhatan confederacy that inhabited eastern Virginia.
- choke collar — a training collar for a dog, that tightens when the dog strains at the leash
- chook chaser — a small motorcycle, esp for off-road use
- chook raffle — a raffle for which the main prize is a roast chicken
- chuck off at — to abuse or make fun of
- chukot range — mountain range in NE Siberia: highest peak, c. 7,500 ft (2,286 m)
- closed-stack — having access to the stacks limited to the staff of the library or to a limited group of library users.
- clothes rack — a framework for holding or displaying clothes in a shop
- cock a snook — to make a rude gesture by putting one thumb to the nose with the fingers of the hand outstretched
- cock feather — the odd-coloured feather set on the shaft of an arrow at right angles to the nock
- cock sparrow — a male sparrow
- cocktail bar — a bar which serves cocktails
- coffee break — A coffee break is a short period of time, usually in the morning or afternoon, when you stop working and have a cup of coffee.
- coffee maker — Also, coffeemaker. an apparatus for brewing coffee; coffeepot.
- coffee-maker — a domestic appliance that makes coffee
- coffeemakers — Plural form of coffeemaker.
- college park — a city in N Georgia.
- combat knife — a large knife for military use
- come back to — If you come back to a topic or point, you talk about it again later.
- compact disk — an optical disk approximately 4.75 inches (12 cm) in diameter, on which a program, data, music, etc., is digitally encoded for a laser beam to scan, decode, and transmit to a playback system, computer monitor, or television set. Abbreviation: CD.
- conduct mark — (in school) a mark for behaviour
- cook islands — a group of islands in the SW Pacific, an overseas territory of New Zealand: consists of the Lower Cooks and the Northern Cooks Capital: Avarua, on Rarotonga. Pop: 10 447 (2013 est). Area: 234 sq km (90 sq miles)
- cook-general — (formerly, esp in the 1920s and '30s) a domestic servant who did cooking and housework
- cooking salt — a type of salt used in cooking
- cooling rack — a wire frame used for cooling food on