16-letter words containing t, a, c
- critical damping — the minimum amount of viscous damping that results in a displaced system returning to its original position without oscillation
- critical density — the density of matter that would be required to halt the expansion of the universe
- critical section — A non-re-entrant piece of code that can only be executed by one process at a time. It will usually terminate in bounded time and a process will only have to wait a bounded time to enter it. Some synchronisation mechanism is required at the entry and exit of the critical section to ensure exclusive use.
- cross-resistance — immunologic resistance to the pathogenic effects of a microorganism because of previous exposure to another species or type having cross-reactive antigens.
- cross-validation — a process by which a method that works for one sample of a population is checked for validity by applying the method to another sample from the same population.
- crosscontaminate — Alternative spelling of cross-contaminate.
- crossopterygians — Plural form of crossopterygian.
- croydon facelift — the tightening effect on the skin of a woman's face caused by securing the hair at the back of the head in a tight ponytail
- cryoprecipitates — Plural form of cryoprecipitate.
- cryopreservation — the storage of blood or living tissues at extremely cold temperatures, often -196 degrees Celsius.
- cryptozoological — (cryptozoology) Of or pertaining to cryptozoology.
- crystal detector — a demodulator, used esp in microwave circuits and in early radio receivers, consisting of a thin metal wire in point contact with a semiconductor crystal
- crystalline lens — a biconvex transparent elastic structure in the eye situated behind the iris, serving to focus images on the retina
- crystallographer — A person skilled in crystallography.
- crystallographic — of, relating to, or dealing with crystals or crystallography.
- cultural-capital — Sociology. the skills, education, norms, and behaviors acquired by members of a social group that can give them economic and other advantages: The accumulation of cultural capital is one route to upward mobility.
- currency trading — the business of trading in different currencies in order to profit from exchange rate differentials
- curriculum vitae — A curriculum vitae is the same as a CV.
- curtain-twitcher — a person who likes to watch unobserved what other people are doing
- customary tenant — a tenant occupying a property under the customs of the manor, often a low-status tenant with little security of tenure
- cut a wide swath — to make an ostentatious display or forceful impression
- cut and blow-dry — a hairdressing procedure in which the customer's hair is cut and blow-dried
- cut one's throat — to bring about one's own ruin
- cut to the chase — If someone cuts to the chase, they start talking about or dealing with what is important, instead of less important things.
- cut-throat razor — a razor with a long blade that usually folds into the handle
- cute as a button — very sweet, adorable
- cyclohexamantane — (chemistry) A certain diamondoid, C26H30.
- cytoarchitecture — (biology) The arrangement of cells in an organism or organ.
- cytotrophoblasts — Plural form of cytotrophoblast.
- dacryocystectomy — The surgical removal of a part of the lacrimal sac.
- data abstraction — (data) Any representation of data in which the implementation details are hidden (abstracted). Abstract data types and objects are the two primary forms of data abstraction.
- data acquisition — data logging
- data compression — the act of compressing.
- database machine — (hardware) A computer or special hardware that stores and retrieves data from a database. It is specially designed for database access and is coupled to the main (front-end) computer(s) by a high-speed channel. This contrasts with a database server, which is a computer in a local area network that holds a database. The database machine is tightly coupled to the main CPU, whereas the database server is loosely coupled via the network.
- davidson current — a winter countercurrent that flows N along the W coast of the U.S.
- de-anglicization — (in Ireland) the elimination of English influence, language, customs, etc
- de-concentration — to reduce the power or control of (a corporation, industry, etc.); decentralize.
- dealcoholization — to remove some or all of the alcohol from (a drink).
- debating chamber — a room where a legislative assembly holds debates
- debating society — a club, e.g. at a school or university, which regularly holds debates
- deboursification — (jargon) Removal of irrelevant newsgroups from the Newsgroups header of a followup. The term applies particularly to the removal of frivolous groups added by one of the Kooks. See also: sneck.
- debut appearance — debut
- decapitalization — to deprive of capital; discourage capital formation; withdraw capital from: The government decapitalized industry with harsh tax policies.
- decentralisation — Alternative spelling of decentralization.
- decentralization — to distribute the administrative powers or functions of (a central authority) over a less concentrated area: to decentralize the national government.
- dechristianizing — Present participle of dechristianize.
- decimal fraction — a fraction whose denominator is some power of 10, usually indicated by a dot (decimal point or point) written before the numerator: as 0.4 = 4/10; 0.126 = 126/1000.
- declassification — to remove the classification from (information, a document, etc.) that restricts access in terms of secrecy, confidentiality, etc. Compare classification (def 5).
- decontextualized — removed from the usual context
- definite article — The word 'the' is sometimes called the definite article.