16-letter words containing a, b, t, e
- 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.
- filterable virus — a virus particle small enough to pass through a filter of diatomaceous earth or porcelain, which will not pass bacteria: chiefly historical or an informal indicator of size, as synthetic membrane filters now permit passage of the smallest virus.
- flabbergastation — (colloquial) Bewildered shock or surprise; the state or condition of being flabbergasted.
- flabbergastingly — Surprisingly, astonishingly or amazingly.
- 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.
- flat-bed scanner — a type of optical scanner having a flat, stationary surface on which a page is scanned by a moving head.
- 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
- forbid the banns — to raise an objection to a marriage announced in this way
- forced vibration — Forced vibration is a type of vibration in which a force is repeatedly applied to a mechanical system.
- fortin barometer — an adjustable cistern barometer, the most common of those employing mercury.
- four-masted brig — jackass bark (def 2).
- 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.
- frontier orbital — the highest-energy occupied orbital or lowest-energy unoccupied orbital in a molecule. Such orbitals have a large influence on chemical properties
- fundamental bass — a bass consisting of the roots of the chords employed.
- galvanic battery — battery (def 1a).
- generalisability — Non-Oxford British standard spelling of generalizability.
- generalizability — The quality of being generalizable.
- gingerbread tree — a W African tree, Parinari macrophyllum, with large mealy edible fruits (gingerbread plums): family Chrysobalanaceae
- 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.
- grant of probate — a certificate stating that a will is valid
- great blue heron — a large American heron, Ardea herodias, having bluish-gray plumage.
- green vegetables — green edible plants
- grin and bear it — to suffer trouble or hardship without complaint
- ground substance — Also called matrix. the homogeneous substance in which the fibers and cells of connective tissue are embedded.
- growth substance — any substance, produced naturally by a plant or manufactured commercially, that, in very low concentrations, affects plant growth; a plant hormone
- have a big mouth — to speak indiscreetly, loudly, or excessively
- have sb to thank — If you say that you have someone to thank for something, you mean that you are grateful to them because they caused it to happen.
- hawksbill turtle — a sea turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, the shell of which is the source of tortoise shell: an endangered species.
- 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.
- hot and bothered — having or giving off heat; having a high temperature: a hot fire; hot coffee.
- hot-cathode tube — thermionic tube.
- hot-water bottle — a bag, usually of rubber, for holding hot water to apply warmth to some part of the body, as the feet.
- huntington beach — a city in SW California, SE of Los Angeles.
- hybrid perpetual — a type of cultivated rose bred from varieties having vigorous growth and more or less recurrent bloom.
- hydration number — the number of molecules of water with which an ion can combine in an aqueous solution of given concentration.
- hypervariability — apt or liable to vary or change; changeable: variable weather; variable moods.
- icterine warbler — a European variety of tree warbler (Hippolais icterina )
- impenetrableness — The quality of being impenetrable.
- imperfectability — The quality of not being perfectable; of being forever imperfect.
- imperturbability — incapable of being upset or agitated; not easily excited; calm: imperturbable composure.
- in the same boat — a vessel for transport by water, constructed to provide buoyancy by excluding water and shaped to give stability and permit propulsion.
- inconceivability — (uncountable) The quality of being inconceivable.
- incontestability — incapable of being contested; not open to dispute; incontrovertible: incontestable proof.
- incontravertable — Misspelling of incontrovertible.
- incorporated bar — (in some states) a system of bar associations to which all lawyers are required to belong.
- indefatigability — incapable of being tired out; not yielding to fatigue; untiring.