16-letter words containing s, e, c
- closed-captioned — (of a video recording) having subtitles which appear on screen only if the cassette is played through a special decoder
- closing argument — In a court case, a lawyer's closing argument is their final speech, in which they give a summary of their case.
- cluster headache — a type of recurrent headache characterized by sudden onset and intense pain on one side of the face near the eye
- cluster variable — RR Lyrae star.
- cobweb houseleek — a small southern European plant, Sempervivum arachoideum, of the stonecrop family, having a dense, globular cluster of cobwebby leaves and red flowers on hairy stalks.
- cochineal cactus — a treelike cactus, Nopalea cochenillifera, of Mexico and Central America, that is a principal source of food of the cochineal insect.
- cochineal insect — a Mexican homopterous insect, Dactylopius coccus, that feeds on cacti
- cocktail sausage — a small sausage served with drinks
- cogito, ergo sum — I think, therefore I am; the basis of Descartes' philosophy
- collagen disease — any of a group of diseases, as systemic lupus erythematosus, polyarteritis, scleroderma, and rheumatoid arthritis, involving inflammation or degeneration of connective tissue and accompanied by deposition of fibrinous material.
- collectivisation — Alternative spelling of collectivization.
- collector's item — A collector's item is an object which is highly valued by collectors because it is rare or beautiful.
- colles' fracture — a fracture of the radius just above the wrist, with backward and outward displacement of the hand
- collision course — If two or more people or things are on a collision course, there is likely to be a sudden and violent disagreement between them.
- colonial heights — a town in central Virginia.
- color television — tv set showing images in colour
- columbia heights — a city in SE Minnesota, near Minneapolis.
- combined honours — (in British education) a degree course that includes more than one subject
- come-to-bed eyes — a sexually alluring expression
- comedy of errors — an early comedy (1594) by Shakespeare.
- commensurability — The quality of being commensurable or commensurate.
- commensurateness — The state or quality of being commensurate.
- commission agent — a person who sells goods and services for a fee
- commission house — a brokerage firm that buys and sells for customers on a commission basis
- commissionership — The role or office of commissioner.
- commonsensically — sound practical judgment that is independent of specialized knowledge, training, or the like; normal native intelligence.
- communicableness — The state or quality of being communicable.
- commutation-test — the act of substituting one thing for another; substitution; exchange.
- company of jesus — former name of the Society of Jesus.
- compartmentalise — to divide into categories or compartments.
- complex analysis — the branch of mathematics dealing with analytic functions of a complex variable.
- complex sentence — a sentence containing at least one main clause and one subordinate clause
- complexity class — (algorithm) A collection of algorithms or computable functions with the same complexity.
- complicitousness — (rare, possibly nonstandard) Complicity.
- compliments slip — a slip of paper sent with a parcel that identifies the sender and expresses compliments
- composite family — the large and varied plant family Compositae (or Asteraceae), typified by herbaceous plants having alternate, opposite, or whorled leaves and a whorl of bracts surrounding the flower heads, which are usually composed of a disk containing tiny petalless flowers and a ray of petals extending from the flowers at the rim of the disk, some flower heads being composed only of a disk or a ray and some plants having clusters of flower heads, and including the aster, daisy, dandelion, goldenrod, marigold, ragweed, sunflower, thistle, and zinnia.
- composite motion — a motion in a deliberative body that combines elements of several related motions
- composite number — a positive integer that can be factorized into two or more other positive integers
- composite school — a secondary school offering both academic and nonacademic courses
- compressed video — video compression
- compression wave — a shock wave that compresses the medium through which it is transmitted.
- compromise joint — a joint for linking together rails having different sections.
- computer science — the study of computers and their application
- computer studies — a course of study devoted to using and programming computers
- concertina crash — a collision in which vehicle after vehicle hits the one ahead in a sequence of events triggered by the first car crash
- concession stand — a stall where food, drinks, or other items are sold at a theatre or other venue
- conciliatoriness — tending to conciliate: a conciliatory manner; conciliatory comments.
- condensed matter — crystalline and amorphous solids and liquids, including liquid crystals, glasses, polymers, and gels
- conditional sale — a sale in which the title of a property remains with the seller until some condition is met, as the payment of the full purchase price.
- confederationism — The advocacy of confederation as a means of government.