16-letter words containing a, t, r, s
- leptosporangiate — (of ferns) having each sporangium developing from a single cell, rather than from a group, and normally with specialized explosive spore dispersal
- lesser spearwort — a Eurasian ranunculaceous plant, R. flammula, of the genus Ranunculus, which grows in wet places and has long narrow leaves and yellow flowers
- levallois-perret — a suburb of Paris, in N France, on the Seine.
- lever escapement — an escapement in which a pivoted lever, made to oscillate by the escape wheel, engages a balance staff and causes it to oscillate.
- libation-bearers — Choëphori.
- liberal unionist — a Liberal who opposed Gladstone's policy of Irish Home Rule in 1886 and after
- library pictures — a caption used to alert viewers that footage being broadcast is from an earlier time and is not happening now
- lick observatory — the astronomical observatory of the University of California, situated on Mount Hamilton, near San Jose, California, and having a 120-inch (3-meter) reflecting telescope and a 36-inch (91-cm) refracting telescope.
- lightheartedness — carefree; cheerful; merry: a lighthearted laugh.
- like gangbusters — a law-enforcement officer who specializes in breaking up organized crime, often by forceful or sensational means.
- listen to reason — be persuaded
- literalistically — adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense, as in translation or interpretation: to interpret the law with uncompromising literalism.
- lithium stearate — a white, crystalline, slightly water-soluble powder, LiC 18 H 35 O 2 , used chiefly in cosmetics, in plastics, and as a lubricant in powder metallurgy.
- living standards — standard of living; material quality of life
- loan translation — the process whereby a compound word or expression is created by literal translation of each of the elements of a compound word or expression in another language, as marriage of convenience from French mariage de convenance.
- local oscillator — the oscillator in a superheterodyne receiver whose output frequency is mixed with the incoming modulated radio-frequency carrier signal to produce the required intermediate frequency
- lonely hearts ad — an advertisement placed by someone who is trying to find a lover or a friend
- lost river range — a mountain range in E central Idaho. Highest peak, Borah Peak (also highest in the state), 12,662 feet (3862 meters).
- lost-wax process — a process of investment casting in which a refractory mold is built up around a pattern of wax and then baked so as to melt and drain off the wax.
- low-carbon steel — steel containing between 0.04 and 0.25 per cent carbon
- lumberjack shirt — a thick checked shirt, as worn by lumberjacks
- macpherson strut — an automobile suspension-system component that consists of a strut combined with a spring and shock absorber and connects the wheel to the frame of the vehicle.
- macro-linguistic — a field of study concerned with language in its broadest sense and including cultural and behavioral features associated with language.
- macroinstruction — macro (def 5).
- macrolinguistics — a field of study concerned with language in its broadest sense and including cultural and behavioral features associated with language.
- macrorestriction — In physical gene mapping, the digestion of DNA of high molecular weight with a restriction enzyme having a low number of restriction sites.
- magnesiochromite — (mineral) A chromite species with the formula MgCr2O4.
- magnetic pyrites — Mineralogy. pyrrhotite.
- magnetochemistry — the study of magnetic and chemical phenomena in their relation to one another.
- magnetoreceptors — Plural form of magnetoreceptor.
- magnetoresistive — Of or pertaining to magnetoresistance.
- magnetostriction — a change in dimensions exhibited by ferromagnetic materials when subjected to a magnetic field.
- magnetostrictive — Of or pertaining to magnetostriction.
- mainstream media — newspapers, magazines, television, and radio, as opposed to social media
- malacostracology — (obsolete) carcinology, the study of crustaceans.
- malpractice suit — a lawsuit brought against a professional accused of illegal or unethical practices or neglect of duty
- man-eating shark — any shark known to attack humans, especially the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias.
- managerial staff — staff in positions of management
- manufactured gas — a gaseous fuel created from coal, oil, etc., as differentiated from natural gas.
- mare serenitatis — (Sea of Serenity) a dark plain in the first quadrant of the face of the moon: about 120,000 sq. mi. (310,000 sq. km).
- margin of safety — therapeutic index.
- marginal costing — a method of cost accounting and decision making used for internal reporting in which only marginal costs are charged to cost units and fixed costs are treated as a lump sum
- marine biologist — scientist who studies sea life
- marine scientist — a scientist concerned with the sea
- marriage customs — the acts that are traditionally done in connection with a marriage
- married quarters — the housing provided on a military base for married servicemen or servicewomen
- marsupialization — (surgery) The surgical technique of cutting a slit into a cyst and suturing its edges to form a continuous surface from the exterior to the interior of the cyst, allowing it to drain freely.
- mass destruction — devastation on a large scale
- mass observation — the study of the social habits of people through observation, interviews, etc
- matrix mechanics — a formulation of non-relativistic quantum mechanics in which physical quantities are represented by matrices and matrix algebra is used to predict the outcome of physical measurements.