16-letter words containing a, f, t, c
- dorothy canfield — Dorothy, Fisher, Dorothy Canfield.
- drag coefficient — a measure of the drag of an object in a moving fluid, esp air
- drug trafficking — smuggling illegal drugs
- dysfunctionality — (uncountable) The condition of being dysfunctional.
- east coast fever — a disease of cattle, endemic in east and central Africa, caused by a parasite, Theileria parva, that is carried by ticks
- elected official — person voted into office
- electric furnace — any furnace in which the heat is provided by an electric current
- electrical fault — a fault caused by something electrical
- electronic flash — Photography
- exemplifications — Plural form of exemplification.
- extrinsic factor — vitamin B12
- face recognition — the ability of a computer to scan, store, and recognize human faces for use in identifying people
- faction fighting — dissension
- factor of safety — the ratio of the maximum stress that a structural part or other piece of material can withstand to the maximum stress estimated for it in the use for which it is designed.
- fahrenheit scale — Gabriel Daniel [German gah-bree-el dah-nee-el] /German ˈgɑ briˌɛl ˈdɑ niˌɛl/ (Show IPA), 1686–1736, German physicist: devised a temperature scale and introduced the use of mercury in thermometers.
- fair-trade price — the price set for a commodity by the Fairtrade Foundation
- falsificationism — (epistemology) A scientific philosophy based on the requirement that hypotheses must be falsifiable in order to be scientific; if a claim is not able to be refuted it is not a scientific claim.
- father christmas — Santa Claus.
- father confessor — confessor (def 2).
- feather merchant — a person who avoids responsibility and effort; loafer.
- feature creature — [Possibly from slang "creature feature" for a horror movie] 1. One who loves to add features to designs or programs, perhaps at the expense of coherence, concision or taste. 2. Alternately, a mythical being that induces otherwise rational programmers to perpetrate such crocks. See also feeping creaturism, creeping featurism.
- federal district — a district in which the national government of a country is located, especially one in Latin America.
- federated church — a church whose membership includes two or more congregations of different denominational affiliation.
- 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.
- feel constrained — If you feel constrained to do something, you feel that you must do it, even though you would prefer not to.
- feel-good factor — When journalists refer to the feel-good factor, they mean that people are feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future.
- feeping creature — [feeping creaturism] An unnecessary feature; a bit of chrome that, in the speaker's judgment, is the camel's nose for a whole horde of new features.
- fertility factor — a sex-determining chromosome or gene.
- feulgen reaction — a reaction in which an aldehyde combines with a modified Schiff's reagent to produce a purplish compound: used especially to test for the presence of DNA
- fictionalisation — Alternative spelling of fictionalization.
- fictionalization — to make into fiction; give a somewhat imaginative or fictional version of: to fictionalize a biography.
- filter cigarette — a cigarette with a filter tip
- finance director — financial manager
- finance minister — a member of a government in charge of the financial affairs of a state etc
- financialization — (economics) Conversion of intangible value into financial instruments.
- fingertip search — When the police carry out a fingertip search of a place, they examine it for evidence in a very detailed way.
- fish or cut bait — any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.
- flame cultivator — an implement that kills weeds by scorching them with a directed flow of flaming gas.
- flat-bed scanner — a type of optical scanner having a flat, stationary surface on which a page is scanned by a moving head.
- flat-track bully — a sportsperson who dominates inferior opposition, but who cannot beat top-level opponents
- flathead catfish — a yellow and brown catfish, Pylodictus olivaris, common in the central U.S., having a flattened head and a projecting lower jaw.
- flight indicator — artificial horizon (def 3).
- floridean starch — the storage polysaccharide of red algae.
- flotation collar — an inflatable device worn around the neck to keep the wearer afloat when in danger of drowning
- fluorescent lamp — a tubular electric discharge lamp in which light is produced by the fluorescence of phosphors coating the inside of the tube.
- focused strategy — a business strategy in which an organization divests itself of all but its core activities, using the funds raised to enhance the distinctive abilities that give it an advantage over its rivals
- food intolerance — an intolerance of a specific type of food, causing an adverse reaction
- football special — a train service provided specially to transport football supporters to and from a match
- forced vibration — Forced vibration is a type of vibration in which a force is repeatedly applied to a mechanical system.
- formation packer — A formation packer is a substance that is used as a seal between the casing and the borehole so that part of the hole can be tested.