16-letter words containing a, f, l, e
- butterfly damper — a damper, as in a flue, that rotates about a central axis across its face.
- cabbage root fly — a dipterous fly, Erioischia brassicae, whose larvae feed on the roots and stems of cabbages and other brassicas: family Muscidae (houseflies, etc)
- calcium fluoride — a white, crystalline compound, CaF 2 , insoluble in water, occurring in nature as the mineral fluorite: used as a flux in metallurgy and as a decay preventive in dentifrices.
- call of the wild — a novel (1903) by Jack London.
- canada mayflower — a small wildflower (Maianthemum canadense) of the lily family, with white flowers and red, beadlike berries, found in the N U.S. and in Canada; bead-ruby
- cancellation fee — A cancellation fee is a sum of money you must pay if you cancel a hotel reservation after the cancellation deadline.
- carbon bisulfide — carbon disulfide
- carbon disulfide — a heavy, volatile, colorless liquid, CS2, highly flammable and poisonous, used as a solvent, insecticide, etc.
- catch oneself on — to realize that one's actions are mistaken
- cedar of lebanon — a cedar, Cedrus libani, of SW Asia with level spreading branches and fragrant wood
- centrifugal pump — a pump having a high-speed rotating impeller whose blades throw the water outwards
- chain-link fence — a type of fence made of a mesh woven from steel wire
- chemical warfare — warfare in which chemicals other than explosives are used as weapons, esp warfare using asphyxiating or nerve gases, poisons, defoliants, etc
- chilean firebush — South American shrub with scarlet flowers
- chinese fan palm — a fan palm, Livistona chinensis, of southern Japan, having very large, deeply cleft leaves and bluish-green, ovalish fruit.
- choanoflagellate — any flagellate of the genera Monosiga and Proterospongia, having a protoplasmic collar encircling the base of the flagellum.
- cholera infantum — an often fatal form of gastroenteritis occurring in infants, not of the same cause as cholera but having somewhat similar characteristics.
- clarified butter — butter with the water and milk solids removed, used for cooking at high temperatures without burning
- clermont-ferrand — a city in S central France: capital of Puy-de-Dôme department; industrial centre. Pop: 140 957 (2011)
- cock of the walk — a person who asserts himself or herself in a strutting pompous way
- cold wall effect — the condition or state of having large or multiple windows through which heat escapes and cold air is conducted into a heated room via radiation.
- colles' fracture — a fracture of the radius just above the wrist, with backward and outward displacement of the hand
- complex fraction — a fraction in which the numerator or denominator or both contain fractions
- composite family — the large and varied plant family Compositae (or Asteraceae), typified by herbaceous plants having alternate, opposite, or whorled leaves and a whorl of bracts surrounding the flower heads, which are usually composed of a disk containing tiny petalless flowers and a ray of petals extending from the flowers at the rim of the disk, some flower heads being composed only of a disk or a ray and some plants having clusters of flower heads, and including the aster, daisy, dandelion, goldenrod, marigold, ragweed, sunflower, thistle, and zinnia.
- conference table — a large table, often rectangular, around which a number of people may be seated, as when holding a conference
- confidentialness — The state or quality of being confidential.
- control freakery — an obsessive need to be in control of what is happening
- coreferentiality — (of two words or phrases) having reference to the same person or thing.
- council of state — a council that deliberates on high-level policies of a government.
- counterfactually — a conditional statement the first clause of which expresses something contrary to fact, as “If I had known.”.
- court of appeals — A Court of Appeals is a court which deals with appeals against legal judgments.
- criminal offence — an action which is punishable under the law
- croydon facelift — the tightening effect on the skin of a woman's face caused by securing the hair at the back of the head in a tight ponytail
- dead-man's float — a prone floating position, used especially by beginning swimmers, with face downward, legs extended backward, and arms stretched forward.
- dead-smooth file — the smoothest grade of file commonly used
- decimal fraction — a fraction whose denominator is some power of 10, usually indicated by a dot (decimal point or point) written before the numerator: as 0.4 = 4/10; 0.126 = 126/1000.
- declassification — to remove the classification from (information, a document, etc.) that restricts access in terms of secrecy, confidentiality, etc. Compare classification (def 5).
- definite article — The word 'the' is sometimes called the definite article.
- deflationary gap — a situation in which total spending in an economy is insufficient to buy all the output that can be produced with full employment
- depart this life — to die
- dictionary flame — [Usenet] An attempt to sidetrack a debate away from issues by insisting on meanings for key terms that presuppose a desired conclusion or smuggle in an implicit premise. A common tactic of people who prefer argument over definitions to disputes about reality. Compare spelling flame.
- dimethyl sulfate — a colorless or yellow, slightly water-soluble, poisonous liquid, (CH 3) 2 SO 2 , used chiefly in organic synthesis.
- distrito federal — Federal District. Abbreviation: D.F.
- documentary film — factual, informative film
- dolce far niente — pleasing inactivity.
- dorothy canfield — Dorothy, Fisher, Dorothy Canfield.
- duchess of malfi — a tragedy (1614?) by John Webster.
- economy of scale — a fall in average costs resulting from an increase in the scale of production
- edsel ford range — a mountain range in Antarctica, E of the Ross Sea.
- elected official — person voted into office