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Glossary · Nouns · C

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TermTypeDefinitionClassificationsUpdated
Consumer GoodsnounMWEgoods (as food or clothing) intended for direct use or consumptionverifiedMay 18, 2026
Consumer informationnounMWEFor purposes of the Information Security Standards, “consumer information” means any record about an individual, whether in paper, electronic, or other form, that is a consumer report or is derived from a consumer report that is maintained by or on behalf of a financial institution for a business purpose, such as information that an institution obtains about a loan applicant or a prospective employee from a consumer report.DataRegulatedPIIMay 9, 2026
Consumer LoannounMWEa loan that establishes consumer credit that is granted for personal useverifiedMay 18, 2026
Consumer Price IndexnounMWEan index of the cost of all goods and services to a typical consumerverifiedMay 18, 2026
Consumer ResearchnounMWEmarketing research that yields information about the motives and needs of different classes of consumersverifiedMay 18, 2026
Consumerismnounthe theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically beneficialverifiedMay 18, 2026
ConsumerizationnounA new model in which emerging technologies are first embraced by the consumer market and later spread to the businessThreatMay 9, 2026
Consummationnounthe completion of marriage by sexual intercourseverifiedMay 18, 2026
Consumptionnoun(economics) the utilization of economic goods to satisfy needs or in manufacturingverifiedMay 18, 2026
Consumption WeednounMWEa shrub of salt marshes of eastern and south central North America and West IndiesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contact ActionnounMWEacceleration of a chemical reaction induced the presence of material that is chemically unchanged at the end of the reactionverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contact ArmnounMWEcontact consisting of a conducting arm that rotates over a series of fixed contacts and comes to rest on an outletverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contact DermatitisnounMWEa delayed type of allergic reaction of the skin resulting from skin contact with a specific allergen such as poison ivyverifiedMay 18, 2026
contact informationnounMWEInformation usually containing the person's telephone number(s), fax number, address, and electronic mail address(es).DataRegulatedPIIMay 9, 2026
Contact LensnounMWEa thin curved glass or plastic lens designed to fit over the cornea in order to correct vision or to deliver medicationverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contact PrintnounMWEa print made by exposing a photosensitive surface to direct contact with a photographic negativeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contact SportnounMWEa sport that necessarily involves body contact between opposing playersverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contadinonounan Italian farmerverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contagionnounthe communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of peopleverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contagious AbortionnounMWEan infectious disease of domestic animals often resulting in spontaneous abortionverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contagious DiseasenounMWEany disease easily transmitted by contactverifiedMay 18, 2026
ContainernounThe file used by a virtual disk encryption technology to encompass and protect other files.SystemMay 12, 2026
Container ShipnounMWEa cargo ship designed to hold containerized cargoesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Container VesselnounMWEa cargo ship designed to hold containerized cargoesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Containerfulnounthe quantity that a container will holdverifiedMay 18, 2026
ContainmentnounActions taken to limit exposure after an incident has been identified and confirmedProcessMay 9, 2026
Contaminantnouna substance that contaminatesverifiedMay 18, 2026
ContaminationnounType of incident involving the introduction of data of one security classification or security category into data of a lower security classification or different security category.EventMay 9, 2026
Contemplationnouna calm, lengthy, intent considerationverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contemplativenessnoundeep serious thoughtfulnessverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contemporaneitynounthe quality of belonging to the same period of timeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contemporaneousnessnounthe quality of belonging to the same period of timeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contemporary WorldnounMWEthe circumstances and ideas of the present ageverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contemptnouna willful disobedience to or disrespect for the authority of a court or legislative bodyverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contempt of CongressnounMWEdeliberate obstruction of the operation of the federal legislative branchverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contempt of CourtnounMWEviolation of the rules of a court of law, which the subject has the ability to rectifyverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contemptibilitynoununworthiness by virtue of lacking higher valuesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contemptuousnessnounthe manifestation of scorn and contemptverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contendernounthe contestant you hope to defeatverifiedMay 18, 2026
contentnounThe intellectual substance of a document, including text, data, symbols, numerals, images, and sound.DataMay 9, 2026
Content filteringnounMWEThe process of monitoring communications such as email and Web pages, analyzing them for suspicious content, and preventing the delivery of suspicious content to users.CapabilityMay 9, 2026
Content ValiditynounMWEthe extent to which a test measures a representative sample of the subject matter or behavior under investigation. For example, if a test is designed to survey arithmetic skills at a third-grade level, content validity indicates how well it represents the range of arithmetic operations possible at that level. Modern approaches to determining content validity involve the use of exploratory factor analysis and other multivariate statistical procedures.MetricMay 18, 2026
Content WordnounMWEa word to which an independent meaning can be assignedverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contentednessnounthe state of being contented with your situation in lifeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contentionnounthe act of competing as for profit or a prizeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contentiousnessnounan inclination to be quarrelsome and contentiousverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contentmentnounhappiness with one's situation in lifeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contestantnouna person who dissents from some established policyverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contestationnouna contentious speech actverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contesteenouna winner (of a race or an election etc.) whose victory is contestedverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contesternounsomeone who contests an outcome (of a race or an election etc.)verifiedMay 18, 2026
contextnounThe circumstances and conditions that surround an event or environment.verifiedMay 12, 2026
Context-Of-Usenouncomprises a combination of users, goals, tasks, resources, and the technical, physical and social, cultural and organizational environments in which a system, product or service is used[; ...] can include the interactions and interdependencies between the object of interest and other systems, products or services.ArtifactMay 18, 2026
Contextual DefinitionnounMWEa definition in which the term is used by embedding it in a larger expression containing its explanationverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contextual LearningnounMWEA computing system with sufficient knowledge regarding its purpose that it understands the source, relevance, and utility of data and inputs.CapabilityMay 18, 2026
Contextualismnounany doctrine emphasizing the importance of the context in solving problems or establishing the meaning of termsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contiguitynounthe attribute of being so near as to be touchingverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contiguousnessnounthe attribute of being so near as to be touchingverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continencenounvoluntary control over urinary and fecal dischargeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continencynounthe exercise of self constraint in sexual mattersverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continental BreakfastnounMWEa light breakfast modelled after those of Continental Europe, generally cold and including bread, pastries and coffee or teaverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continental DividenounMWEthe watershed of a continent (especially the watershed of North America formed by a series of mountain ridges extending from Alaska to Mexico)verifiedMay 18, 2026
Continental DriftnounMWEthe gradual movement and formation of continents (as described by plate tectonics)verifiedMay 18, 2026
Continental GlaciernounMWEa glacier that spreads out from a central mass of iceverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continental PlannounMWEa hotel plan that provides a continental breakfast dailyverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continental QuiltnounMWEa soft quilt usually filled with the down of the eiderverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continental ShelfnounMWEthe relatively shallow (up to 200 meters) seabed surrounding a continentverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continental SlopenounMWEthe steep descent of the seabed from the continental shelf to the abyssal zoneverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contingencenouna possible event or occurrence or resultverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contingencynounthe state of being contingent on somethingverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contingency FeenounMWEa fee that is payable only if the outcome is successful (as for an attorney's services)verifiedMay 18, 2026
Contingency KeynounMWEKey held for use under specific operational conditions or in support of specific contingency plans. See Reserve Keying Material.CredentialRegulatedCUIMay 9, 2026
Contingency PlannounMWEManagement policy and procedures used to guide an enterprise response to a perceived loss of mission capability. The Contingency Plan is the first plan used by the enterprise risk managers to determine what happened, why, and what to do. It may point to the Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) or Disaster Recovery Plan for major disruptions.RequirementRestrictedCUIMay 9, 2026
Contingency PlanningnounMWEThe purpose of this task is to support the required actions for planning, responding, and mitigating damaging events.ProcessRegulatedMay 12, 2026
Contingency ProcedurenounMWEan alternative to the normal procedureverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contingent ProbabilitynounMWEthe probability that an event will occur given that one or more other events have occurredverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuancenounthe act of continuing an activity without interruptionverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuant ConsonantnounMWEconsonant articulated by constricting (but not closing) the vocal tractverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuationnouna Gestalt principle of organization holding that there is an innate tendency to perceive a line as continuing its established directionverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuativenounan uninflected function word that serves to conjoin words or phrases or clauses or sentencesverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continued FractionnounMWEa fraction whose numerator is an integer and whose denominator is an integer plus a fraction whose numerator is an integer and whose denominator is an integer plus a fraction and so onverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuing EducationnounMWEa program of instruction designed primarily for adult students who participate part-timeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuing TrespassnounMWEtrespass that is not transient or intermittent but continues as long as the offending object remainsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuitynouna detailed script used in making a film in order to avoid discontinuities from shot to shotverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuity of GovernmentnounMWEA coordinated effort within the federal government's executive branch to ensure that national essential functions continue to be performed during a catastrophic emergency.ProcessRestrictedCUIMay 9, 2026
Continuity of Operations PlannounMWEManagement policy and procedures used to guide an enterprise response to a major loss of enterprise capability or damage to its facilities. The COOP is the third plan needed by the enterprise risk managers and is used when the enterprise must recover (often at an alternate site) for a specified period of time. Defines the activities of individual departments and agencies and their sub-components to ensure that their essential functions are performed. This includes plans and procedures that delineate essential functions; specifies succession to office and the emergency delegation of authority; provide for the safekeeping of vital records and databases; identify alternate operating facilities; provide for interoperable communications, and validate the capability through tests, training, and exercises. See also Disaster Recovery Plan and Contingency Plan.ProcessRestrictedMay 12, 2026
continuity plannounMWEA step by step outline of management procedures designed to maintain and restore business operations in the event of an emergency or system failure.ProcessInternalMay 9, 2026
continuity requirementnounMWEA statement of a necessary condition to provide continuity.RequirementMay 9, 2026
Continuonouna bass part written out in full and accompanied by numbers to indicate the chords to be playedverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuous Creation TheorynounMWE(cosmology) the theory that the universe maintains a constant average density with matter created to fill the void left by galaxies that are receding from each otherverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuous MonitoringnounMWEThe process implemented to maintain a current security status for one or more information systems or for the entire suite of information systems on which the operational mission of the enterprise depends. The process includes: 1) The development of a strategy to regularly evaluate selected IA controls/metrics, 2) Recording and evaluating IA relevant events and the effectiveness of the enterprise in dealing with those events, 3) Recording changes to IA controls, or changes that affect IA risks, and 4) Publishing the current security status to enable information-sharing decisions involving the enterprise.ProcessRegulatedCUIMay 12, 2026
Continuous Receiver WatchnounMWEa watch established for the reception of traffic of interest to the unit maintaining the watchverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuous TensenounMWEa tense of verbs used in describing action that is on-goingverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuousnessnounthe quality of something that continues without end or interruptionverifiedMay 18, 2026
Continuumnouna continuous nonspatial whole or extent or succession in which no part or portion is distinct or distinguishable from adjacent partsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contonoun1 conto equals 1,000 escudos in PortugalverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contortionnounthe act of twisting or deforming the shape of something (e.g., yourself)verifiedMay 18, 2026
Contortionistnounan acrobat able to twist into unusual positionsverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contour FeathernounMWEfeathers covering the body of an adult bird and determining its shapeverifiedMay 18, 2026
Contour LanguagenounMWEa tone language that uses pitch changesverifiedMay 18, 2026