16-letter words containing a, t, e, f, c
- 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
- 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
- fingertip search — When the police carry out a fingertip search of a place, they examine it for evidence in a very detailed way.
- 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.
- flathead catfish — a yellow and brown catfish, Pylodictus olivaris, common in the central U.S., having a flattened head and a projecting lower jaw.
- floridean starch — the storage polysaccharide of red algae.
- 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.
- francis townsend — Francis Everett, 1867–1960, U.S. physician and proposer of the Townsend plan.
- frederic mistral — Frédéric [frey-dey-reek] /freɪ deɪˈrik/ (Show IPA), 1830–1914, French Provençal poet: Nobel prize 1904.
- free association — the uncensored expression of the ideas, impressions, etc., passing through the mind of the analysand, a technique used to facilitate access to the unconscious.
- friction gearing — wheels or disks transmitting power by means of frictional contact.
- frigate mackerel — a small, blue-green, black-striped fish, Auxis thazard, abundant in tropical seas, having dark, oily flesh that is sometimes used as food.
- front and center — If a topic or question is front and center, a lot of attention is being paid to it or a lot of people are talking about it.
- functional water — water containing additives that provide extra nutritional value
- fundamentalistic — Fundamentalist.
- funeral director — a person, usually a licensed embalmer, who supervises or conducts the preparation of the dead for burial and directs or arranges funerals.
- gas liquefaction — Gas liquefaction is the process of refrigerating a gas to a temperature that is below its critical temperature in order to form a liquid.
- gazetted officer — (in India) a senior official whose appointment is published in the government gazette
- general factotum — a person who does all sorts of jobs; general assistant
- gift certificate — a certificate entitling the bearer to select merchandise of a specified cash value from a store, usually presented as a gift.
- gold certificate — a former U.S. paper currency issued by the federal government for circulation from 1865 to 1933, equal to and redeemable for gold to a stated value.
- grapefruit juice — nectar of the grapefruit
- haptic interface — (interface, hardware) A touch interface to a computer that provides feedback, such as a data glove.
- hawthorne effect — a positive change in the performance of a group of persons taking part in an experiment or study due to their perception of being singled out for special consideration.
- hay-scented fern — a fern, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, of eastern North America, having brittle, yellow-green fronds.
- head post office — the main post office in a town
- heat of reaction — the heat evolved or absorbed when one mole of a product is formed at constant pressure
- imperfect market — a market where buyers or sellers can influence the market, and there is a lack of product information
- imperfectability — The quality of not being perfectable; of being forever imperfect.
- in a cleft stick — If you say that a person or organization is in a cleft stick, you mean that they are in a difficult situation which will bring them problems and harm whatever they decide to do.
- infant education — (in England and Wales) education provided for children at infant schools
- infinite decimal — nonterminating decimal.
- intensifications — Plural form of intensification.
- interfacial area — The interfacial area is the total area of contact between two liquids in a liquid-liquid operation.
- leaf-cutting ant — any of several tropical American ants of the genus Atta that cut and chew bits of leaves and flowers into a mash that they use to cultivate a fungus garden.
- leaf-cutting bee — any of the bees of the family Megachilidae that cut circular pieces from leaves or flowers to line their nests.