16-letter words containing a, f
- flabbergastingly — Surprisingly, astonishingly or amazingly.
- flamborough head — a chalk promontory in NE England, on the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire
- flame cultivator — an implement that kills weeds by scorching them with a directed flow of flaming gas.
- flash eliminator — a device fitted to the muzzle of a firearm to reduce the flash made by the ignited propellant gases
- flash in the pan — a brief, sudden burst of bright light: a flash of lightning.
- flash photolysis — the study of photochemical reaction mechanisms in gases by analyzing spectroscopically the reaction products in a gas mixture irradiated with a powerful light flash.
- 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.
- flat-bed scanner — a type of optical scanner having a flat, stationary surface on which a page is scanned by a moving head.
- flat-felled seam — a seam on the face of a garment, as on the outside of the legs of blue jeans, made by overlapping or interlocking one seam allowance with the other and top-stitching them together onto the garment with two parallel rows of stitches.
- 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.
- flatheaded borer — the larva of a metallic wood-boring beetle, having an expanded and flattened anterior end.
- flight attendant — an airline employee who serves meals, attends to passengers' comfort, etc., during a flight.
- flight formation — an arrangement of two or more airplanes flying together in a group, usually in a predetermined pattern.
- flight indicator — artificial horizon (def 3).
- flight simulator — a device used in pilot and crew training that provides a cockpit environment and sensations of flight under actual conditions.
- florencio varela — a city in E Argentina, near Buenos Aires.
- 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
- flower arranging — Flower arranging is the art or hobby of arranging cut flowers in a way which makes them look attractive.
- fluorescent lamp — a tubular electric discharge lamp in which light is produced by the fluorescence of phosphors coating the inside of the tube.
- fluosilicic acid — an unstable acid, H 2 SiF 6 , known only in its colorless, poisonous, fuming aqueous solution or in the form of its salts: used chiefly as a wood preservative, a disinfectant, and as a hardening agent in the manufacture of ceramic ware, cement, and concrete.
- flying ambulance — an aircraft used to take sick or injured people to hospital
- flying phalanger — any of various small phalangers of Australia and New Guinea, having a parachutelike fold of skin on each side of the body to give gliding assistance in leaping.
- flynn's taxonomy — (architecture) A classification of computer architectures based on the number of streams of instructions and data: Multiple instruction/single data stream (MISD) - unusual.
- 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
- follicular phase — a stage of the menstrual cycle, from onset of menstruation to ovulation.
- follow-my-leader — a game in which the players must repeat the actions of the leader
- food intolerance — an intolerance of a specific type of food, causing an adverse reaction
- food irradiation — the exposure of food to electromagnetic radiation to kill bacteria and retard deterioration
- fool around with — have casual sex
- foot fault judge — on official on the baseline who is responsible for calling foot faults
- football special — a train service provided specially to transport football supporters to and from a match
- for a good cause — If you say that something is for a good cause, you mean that it is worth doing or giving to because it will help other people, for example by raising money for charity.
- for a/one minute — If you say that you do not believe for a minute or for one minute that something is true, you are emphasizing that you do not believe that it is true.
- for a/one moment — If you say that you do not believe for a moment or for one moment that something is true, you are emphasizing that you do not believe that it could possibly be true.
- 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.
- for external use — If medicine is for external use, it is intended to be used only on the outside of your body, and not to be eaten or drunk.
- for good measure — a unit or standard of measurement: weights and measures.
- for pete's sake! — an expression of frustration, exasperation or annoyance
- for the duration — If you say that something will happen for the duration, you mean that it will happen for as long as a particular situation continues.
- for the meantime — For the meantime means for a period of time from now until something else happens.
- forbid the banns — to raise an objection to a marriage announced in this way
- forbush decrease — the sudden decrease in the intensity of cosmic rays after an increase in solar activity.
- force one's hand — the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb.
- forced vibration — Forced vibration is a type of vibration in which a force is repeatedly applied to a mechanical system.
- fore and aft rig — a sail set in a line from one end the other of a vessel rather than in a square
- fore-and-aft rig — a rig in which the principal sails are fore-and-aft.
- forefathers' day — the anniversary of the day (December 21, 1620, in Old Style December 11) on which the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Mass. Owing to an error in changing the date from the Old Style to the New, it is generally observed on December 22.