15-letter words containing u, d, c
- current density — the ratio of the electric current flowing at a particular point in a conductor to the cross-sectional area of the conductor taken perpendicular to the current flow at that point. It is measured in amperes per square metre
- cut (up) didoes — to behave in mischievous or silly way
- cut the mustard — to come up to expectations
- cyanide capsule — a capsule containing cyanide, traditionally given to spies and others so that they can commit suicide to avoid capture
- dark-eyed junco — a common North American junco, Junco hyemalis, having a pink bill, gray and brown body plumage, white belly and outer tail feathers, and differing from other species of junco in having a dark brown rather than yellow iris.
- dartmouth basic — (language) The original BASIC language, designed by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College in 1963. Dartmouth BASIC first ran on a GE 235 [date?] and on an IBM 704 on 1964-05-01. It was designed for quick and easy programming by students and beginners using Dartmouth's experimental time-sharing system. Unlike most later BASIC dialects, Dartmouth BASIC was compiled.
- data redundancy — (data, communications, storage) Any technique that stores or transmits extra, derived data that can be used to detect or repair errors, either in hardware or software. Examples are parity bits and the cyclic redundancy check. If the cost of errors is high enough, e.g. in a safety-critical system, redundancy may be used in both hardware AND software with three separate computers programmed by three separate teams ("triple redundancy") and some system to check that they all produce the same answer, or some kind of majority voting system. The term is not typically used for other, less beneficial, duplication of data. 2. (communications) The proportion of a message's gross information content that can be eliminated without losing essential information. Technically, redundancy is one minus the ratio of the actual uncertainty to the maximum uncertainty. This is the fraction of the structure of the message which is determined not by the choice of the sender, but rather by the accepted statistical rules governing the choice of the symbols in question.
- dead-cat bounce — a temporary recovery in prices following a substantial fall as a result of speculators buying stocks they have already sold rather than as a result of a genuine reversal of the downward trend
- dean of faculty — the president of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland
- debenture stock — stock that pays a fixed rate of interest at fixed intervals
- debt counsellor — a person who advises people who are in debt on how to deal with their debt and get out of it
- debureaucratize — to divide an administrative agency or office into bureaus.
- decarburization — The act, process, or result of decarburizing.
- decasualization — the replacement of casual workers by permanent employees
- decommunization — the act or process of decommunizing
- decontextualise — Alternative spelling of decontextualize.
- decontextualize — to consider (something) in isolation from its usual context
- decree absolute — A decree absolute is the final order made by a court in a divorce case which ends a marriage completely.
- decubitus ulcer — a chronic ulcer of the skin and underlying tissues caused by prolonged pressure on the body surface of bedridden patients
- deculturalizing — to expose or subject to the influence of culture.
- defence counsel — a barrister or group of barristers responsible for defending someone on trial
- definite clause — (logic) A Horn clause that has exactly one positive literal.
- defunct process — zombie process
- degree of curve — a continuously bending line, without angles.
- delta reduction — (theory) In lambda-calculus extended with constants, delta reduction replaces a function applied to the required number of arguments (a redex) by a result. E.g. plus 2 3 --> 5. In contrast with beta reduction (the only kind of reduction in the pure lambda-calculus) the result is not formed simply by textual substitution of arguments into the body of a function. Instead, a delta redex is matched against the left hand side of all delta rules and is replaced by the right hand side of the (first) matching rule. There is notionally one delta rule for each possible combination of function and arguments. Where this implies an infinite number of rules, the result is usually defined by reference to some external system such as mathematical addition or the hardware operations of some computer. For other types, all rules can be given explicitly, for example Boolean negation: not True = False not False = True (1997-02-20)
- demulsification — to break down (an emulsion) into separate substances incapable of re-forming the emulsion that was broken down.
- density current — a turbid, dense current of sediments in suspension moving along the slope and bottom of a lake or ocean.
- deoch-an-doruis — a parting drink or stirrup cup
- deposit account — A deposit account is a type of bank account where the money in it earns interest.
- destruct button — a button that, when pressed, causes a missile or rocket to destruct
- destructibility — The condition of being destructible.
- destructiveness — tending to destroy; causing destruction or much damage (often followed by of or to): a very destructive windstorm.
- deus ex machina — (in ancient Greek and Roman drama) a god introduced into a play to resolve the plot
- deuteronomistic — one of the writers of material used in the early books of the Old Testament.
- deutsches reich — former German name of Germany.
- diamond cutting — the art or work of cutting and shaping rough diamonds to make them suitable for use by the jewellery trade
- dichotomous key — a key used to identify a plant or animal in which each stage presents descriptions of two distinguishing characters, with a direction to another stage in the key, until the species is identified
- dichotomousness — the quality of being dichotomous
- direct coupling — conductive coupling between electronic circuits, as opposed to inductive or capacitative coupling
- direct question — interrogative sentence
- disarticulating — Present participle of disarticulate.
- disarticulation — The act of disarticulating.
- discombobulated — to confuse or disconcert; upset; frustrate: The speaker was completely discombobulated by the hecklers.
- discombobulates — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of discombobulate.
- discontinuation — a breach or interruption of continuity or unity: Progress was delayed by repeated discontinuations of work.
- discontinuities — Plural form of discontinuity.
- discontinuously — In a discontinuous manner; not continuously.
- discount broker — an agent who discounts commercial paper.
- discount market — a trading market in which notes, bills, and other negotiable instruments are discounted.
- discountenanced — Simple past tense and past participle of discountenance.