18-letter words containing e, n, f, a
- indefinite article — an article, as English a, an, that denotes class membership of the noun it modifies without particularizing it.
- infectious disease — illness spread by person to person
- inferior vena cava — See under vena cava.
- information bureau — an office where you can go to get information
- information centre — help desk, office
- information office — an office where you can go to get information
- information system — a computer system or set of components for collecting, creating, storing, processing, and distributing information, typically including hardware and software, system users, and the data itself: the use of information systems to solve business problems.
- information theory — the mathematical theory concerned with the content, transmission, storage, and retrieval of information, usually in the form of messages or data, and especially by means of computers.
- informatory double — a double intended to inform one's partner that one has a strong hand and to urge a bid regardless of the strength of his or her hand.
- infrared astronomy — the study of infrared radiation emitted by celestial objects.
- inspector of taxes — an official of HMRC whose work is to assess individuals' income tax liability
- integrating factor — a factor that upon multiplying a differential equation with the right-hand side equal to zero makes the equation integrable, usually by making the resulting expression an exact differential of some function.
- interface analysis — (testing) A software test which checks the interfaces between program elements for consistency and adherence to predefined rules or axioms.
- invalidity benefit — (formerly, in the British National Insurance scheme) a weekly payment to a person who had been off work through illness for more than six months: replaced by incapacity benefit in 1995
- isabella of france — 1292–1358, wife (1308–27) of Edward II of England, whom, aided by her lover, Roger de Mortimer, she deposed; mother of Edward III
- joint life annuity — an annuity, the payments of which cease at the death of the first of two or more specified persons.
- kansas gay-feather — prairie button snakeroot.
- king of the castle — most powerful figure
- king-of-the-salmon — a ribbonfish, Trachypterus altivelis, of northern parts of the Pacific Ocean.
- knight of the bath — a member of a knightly order founded by George I of England in 1725.
- knight of the road — a tramp
- lambeth conference — a convention of the bishops of the Anglican communion, held about every 10 years at Lambeth Palace to confer but not to define doctrine or to legislate on ecclesiastical matters.
- law of segregation — the principle, originated by Gregor Mendel, stating that during the production of gametes the two copies of each hereditary factor segregate so that offspring acquire one factor from each parent.
- lawrence of arabia — D(avid) H(erbert) 1885–1930, English novelist.
- lean manufacturing — efficiency in the production of goods
- learned profession — any of the three vocations of theology, law, and medicine, commonly held to require highly advanced learning. Compare profession (def 1).
- lifecycle analysis — Lifecycle analysis is the consideration of all the energy and materials that are needed to make a product and to dispose of it.
- lifesaving service — a private organization or government agency for general marine rescue operations.
- locally finite set — a collection of sets in a topological space in which each point of the space has a neighborhood that intersects a finite number of sets of the collection.
- lone-parent family — a family in which there is only one parent
- looking-glass self — the self-image an individual forms by imagining what others think of his or her behavior and appearance.
- magnetic amplifier — an amplifier that applies the input signal to a primary winding and feeds an alternating current to a secondary winding where this current is modulated by the variations in the primary winding.
- make a beeline for — head directly towards
- make a night of it — to cause an activity to last a night
- make allowance for — the act of allowing.
- make no difference — to have no effect; not matter
- man-to-man defense — a method of defense in team sports, especially in basketball and football, in which each member of the defensive team is designated to guard a particular member of the offensive team.
- manufactured goods — products made by machine
- manufacturing base — the manufacturing industries of an area or a country considered as a unit and a constituent part of the economy
- means of transport — vehicle or system of travel
- medical profession — the body of people who work as doctors of medicine
- medium of exchange — anything generally accepted as representing a standard of value and exchangeable for goods or services.
- mendel's first law — the principle, originated by Gregor Mendel, stating that during the production of gametes the two copies of each hereditary factor segregate so that offspring acquire one factor from each parent.
- merchant of venice — a comedy (1596?) by Shakespeare.
- methyl transferase — any of a class of enzymes that catalyze the transfer of methyl groups from one molecule to another.
- mexican fire-plant — a showy plant, Euphorbia heterophylla, of the spurge family, growing in the central U.S. to central South America, having red or mottled red and white bracts.
- mezzo-soprano clef — a C clef locating middle C on the line next to the lowest line of the staff.
- microsoft exchange — (messaging) Microsoft's messaging and enterprise collaboration server. Exchange's primary role is as an electronic mail message store but it can also store calendars, task lists, contact details, and other data.
- minister of health — a person appointed to head the government department of health
- morning-after pill — a contraceptive pill containing only an estrogen and used by women within a few hours after sexual intercourse.