15-letter words containing a, d, i, r
- lady's-earrings — any of several plants having pendent flowers thought to resemble earrings, as the jewelweed or the fuchsia.
- ladybird beetle — ladybug.
- lambda particle — any of a family of neutral baryons with strangeness −1 or charm +1, and isotopic spin 0. The least massive member of the lambda family was the first strange particle to be discovered. Symbol: Λ.
- land of promise — Promised Land.
- laryngectomized — having had one's larynx surgically removed by undergoing a laryngectomy
- laundry service — clothes-washing business
- lauric aldehyde — a colorless, extremely alcohol-soluble liquid having a strong floral odor, C 12 H 24 O, used chiefly in perfumery.
- leading article — Also called leader. the most important or prominent news story in a newspaper.
- leading strings — strings or straps formerly used to guide and support a young child learning to walk
- leadwort family — the plant family Plumbaginaceae, characterized by shrubs and herbaceous plants of seacoasts and semiarid regions, having basal or alternate leaves, spikelike clusters of tubular flowers, and dry, one-seeded fruit, and including leadwort, sea lavender, statice, and thrift.
- leaf primordium — a group of cells that will develop into a leaf, seen as small bulges just below the shoot apex.
- lean production — Lean production is the same as lean manufacturing.
- learned society — an organization devoted to the scholarly study of a particular field or discipline, as modern languages, psychology, or history.
- least sandpiper — a small, American sandpiper, Calidris minutilla, related to the stints of Europe.
- leeward islands — a group of islands in the Caribbean, in the N Lesser Antilles between Puerto Rico and Martinique
- left-hand drive — A left-hand drive vehicle has the steering wheel on the left side, and is designed to be used in countries where people drive on the right-hand side of the road.
- lending library — Also called circulating library, rental library. a small library that is maintained by a commercial establishment, as a drugstore, and is composed largely of current books that are lent to customers for a fee.
- leonid andreyev — Leonid Nikolaevich [lee-uh-nid nik-uh-lahy-uh-vich;; Russian lyi-uh-nyeet nyi-kuh-lah-yi-vyich] /ˈli ə nɪd ˌnɪk əˈlaɪ ə vɪtʃ;; Russian lyɪ ʌˈnyit nyɪ kʌˈlɑ yɪ vyɪtʃ/ (Show IPA), 1871–1919, Russian novelist, short-story writer, and playwright.
- lesser dionysia — (in ancient Attica) the wine feasts, processions, and dramatic performances composing one of the festivals honoring Dionysus, held in the middle of December.
- liberal judaism — Reform Judaism.
- liberal studies — a supplementary arts course for those specializing in scientific, technical, or professional studies
- library binding — a tough, durable cloth binding for books. Compare edition binding.
- library edition — an edition of a book prepared for library use, especially with a library binding.
- lift-drag ratio — the ratio of the lift to the drag of an airfoil.
- like grim death — as if afraid for one's life
- limited partner — special partner.
- linear collider — a particle accelerator in which two beams of particles are made to collide
- linear manifold — subspace (def 2b).
- linear ordering — an ordering that is reflexive, antisymmetric, transitive, and connected, as less than or equal to on the involved integers
- liquid paraffin — a colourless almost tasteless oily liquid obtained by petroleum distillation and used as a laxative
- liquidity ratio — the ratio of those assets that can easily be exchanged for money to the total assets of a bank or other financial institution
- lira da braccio — a many-stringed musical instrument of the 15th and 16th centuries, played with a bow and used for polyphonic improvisation.
- literary device — technique used in writing
- literary editor — someone who edits literature and books
- little colorado — a river flowing NW from E Arizona to the E edge of the Grand Canyon, where it flows into the Colorado River. 315 miles (507 km) long.
- livery cupboard — a cupboard with pierced doors, formerly used as a storage place for food.
- living standard — standard of living.
- loading program — a series of instructions entered automatically in a program that starts the processing.
- logical address — virtual address
- lord lieutenant — British. the title of various high officials holding authority deputed from a sovereign.
- lord privy seal — a cabinet minister without portfolio.
- lord-in-waiting — a nobleman in attendance on a British monarch or the Prince of Wales.
- lords spiritual — a bishop or archbishop belonging to the House of Lords.
- louis d'orleans — Louis Philippe Joseph [lwee fee-leep zhaw-zef] /lwi fiˈlip ʒɔˈzɛf/ (Show IPA), Duc (Philippe Égalité) 1747–93, French political leader.
- lower east side — a section in the borough of Manhattan, New York: noted for its immigrant culture.
- lowland gorilla — the eastern lowland gorilla or western lowland gorilla. See under gorilla.
- mackinac bridge — a suspension bridge over the Straits of Mackinac, connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas of Michigan: one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. 3800-foot (1158-meter) center span; 7400 feet (2256 meters) in total length.
- macroprudential — Of or pertaining to systemic prudence, especially to the strengths and vulnerabilities of financial systems.
- maid of orléans — Saint ("the Maid of Orléans") 1412?–31, French national heroine and martyr who raised the siege of Orléans.
- maidenhair fern — any fern of the cosmopolitan genus Adiantum, esp A. capillis-veneris, having delicate fan-shaped fronds with small pale-green leaflets: family Adiantaceae