16-letter words containing a, b, o, l
- false beechdrops — either of two parasitic or saprophytic plants of the genus Monotropa, especially the tawny or reddish M. hypopithys (false beechdrops) of eastern North America.
- fantasy football — imagination, especially when extravagant and unrestrained.
- feedback control — (electronics) A control system which monitors its effect on the system it is controlling and modifies its output accordingly. For example, a thermostat has two inputs: the desired temperature and the current temperature (the latter is the feedback). The output of the thermostat changes so as to try to equalise the two inputs. Computer disk drives use feedback control to position the read/write heads accurately on a recording track. Complex systems such as the human body contain many feedback systems that interact with each other; the homeostasis mechanisms that control body temperature and acidity are good examples.
- flabbergastation — (colloquial) Bewildered shock or surprise; the state or condition of being flabbergasted.
- flamborough head — a chalk promontory in NE England, on the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire
- flashbulb memory — the clear recollections that a person may have of the circumstances associated with a dramatic event
- flat-bed plotter — a mechanized drafting device, usually computer driven, incorporating a moving pen whose horizontal and vertical range in two dimensions is limited only by the size of the bed of the device.
- flatheaded borer — the larva of a metallic wood-boring beetle, having an expanded and flattened anterior end.
- football special — a train service provided specially to transport football supporters to and from a match
- for all sb cares — You can use for all I care to emphasize that it does not matter at all to you what someone does.
- four-deal bridge — a version of bridge in which four hands only are played, the players then cutting for new partners
- freeboard length — the length of a vessel, measured on the summer load line from the fore side of the stem to some part of the stern, usually the after side of the rudderpost.
- frontal lobotomy — Surgery. a psychosurgical procedure in which the frontal lobes are separated from the rest of the brain by cutting the connecting nerve fibers.
- frontier orbital — the highest-energy occupied orbital or lowest-energy unoccupied orbital in a molecule. Such orbitals have a large influence on chemical properties
- garbage disposal — A garbage disposal or a garbage disposal unit is a small machine in the kitchen sink that breaks down waste matter so that it does not block the sink.
- gas blowoff line — A gas blowoff line is a safety device to control sudden increases in pressure.
- global community — the people or nations of the world, considered as being closely connected by modern telecommunications and as being economically, socially, and politically interdependent
- globigerina ooze — a calcareous deposit occurring upon ocean beds and consisting mainly of the shells of dead foraminifers, especially globigerina.
- globular cluster — a comparatively older, spherically symmetrical, compact group of up to a million old stars, held together by mutual gravitation, that are located in the galactic halo and move in giant and highly eccentric orbits around the galactic center.
- go out on a limb — say sth daring
- great blue heron — a large American heron, Ardea herodias, having bluish-gray plumage.
- gulf of martaban — an inlet of the Bay of Bengal in Myanmar
- gulf of san blas — an inlet of the Caribbean on the N coast of Panama
- half-blind joint — a corner dovetail joint visible on one face only.
- hayes-compatible — (communications) A description of a modem which understands the same set of commands as one made by Hayes.
- hemangioblastoma — (medicine) Any of several benign neoplasm tumours of the brain.
- heterometabolism — insect development in which the young hatch in a form very similar to the adult and then mature without a pupal stage
- heterometabolous — undergoing development in which the young are born adultlike in form, often maturing without a pupal stage.
- hold a brief for — to argue for; champion
- horsehead nebula — a dark nebula in the constellation Orion, composed of opaque cosmic dust and resembling the head of a horse.
- hot-water bottle — a bag, usually of rubber, for holding hot water to apply warmth to some part of the body, as the feet.
- humanly possible — feasible, practical
- hyaloid membrane — the delicate, pellucid, and nearly structureless membrane enclosing the vitreous humor of the eye.
- incommensurables — Plural form of incommensurable.
- inconceivability — (uncountable) The quality of being inconceivable.
- inconsolableness — The quality of being inconsolable.
- incontestability — incapable of being contested; not open to dispute; incontrovertible: incontestable proof.
- incontravertable — Misspelling of incontrovertible.
- inhospitableness — The quality of being inhospitable.
- inter-laboratory — a building, part of a building, or other place equipped to conduct scientific experiments, tests, investigations, etc., or to manufacture chemicals, medicines, or the like.
- interbehavioural — relating to or involving interbehaviour
- intercalibration — to determine, check, or rectify the graduation of (any instrument giving quantitative measurements).
- interoperability — capable of being used or operated reciprocally: interoperable weapons systems.
- invisible shadow — (in architectural shades and shadows) a three-dimensional space occupied by the shadow projected by a solid and within which a surface is in shadow.
- irresolvableness — The state or quality of being irresolvable.
- isoamyl benzoate — a colorless liquid, C 11 H 15 O 2 , having a sharp, fruitlike odor: used in cosmetics.
- japanese bobtail — any of a breed of domestic cat, originating in Japan, with a very short, fluffy tail, and a soft, silky coat often in three colors, white, black, and red
- kit and caboodle — a set or collection of tools, supplies, instructional matter, etc., for a specific purpose: a first-aid kit; a sales kit.
- knapsack problem — the problem of determining which numbers from a given collection of numbers have been added together to yield a specific sum: used in cryptography to encipher (and sometimes decipher) messages.
- knights of labor — a secret workingmen's organization formed in 1869 to defend the interests of labor.