16-letter words containing f, e, r, b, a
- 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.
- femme de chambre — a chambermaid
- fibonacci number — a number in the Fibonacci sequence, each of which is the sum of the previous two
- fibonacci series — a sequence of integers in which each integer (Fibonacci number) after the second is the sum of the two preceding integers; specif., the series 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, . . .
- filterable virus — a virus particle small enough to pass through a filter of diatomaceous earth or porcelain, which will not pass bacteria: chiefly historical or an informal indicator of size, as synthetic membrane filters now permit passage of the smallest virus.
- fisherman's bend — a knot made by taking a round turn on the object to which the rope is to be fastened, passing the end of the rope around the standing part and under the round turn, and securing the end.
- flabbergastation — (colloquial) Bewildered shock or surprise; the state or condition of being flabbergasted.
- flabbergastingly — Surprisingly, astonishingly or amazingly.
- flamborough head — a chalk promontory in NE England, on the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire
- 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.
- flatheaded borer — the larva of a metallic wood-boring beetle, having an expanded and flattened anterior end.
- 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.
- 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.
- forced vibration — Forced vibration is a type of vibration in which a force is repeatedly applied to a mechanical system.
- fortin barometer — an adjustable cistern barometer, the most common of those employing mercury.
- four-deal bridge — a version of bridge in which four hands only are played, the players then cutting for new partners
- four-masted brig — jackass bark (def 2).
- fraises des bois — wild strawberries
- freeboard length — the length of a vessel, measured on the summer load line from the fore side of the stem to some part of the stern, usually the after side of the rudderpost.
- frontier orbital — the highest-energy occupied orbital or lowest-energy unoccupied orbital in a molecule. Such orbitals have a large influence on chemical properties
- grant of probate — a certificate stating that a will is valid
- hold a brief for — to argue for; champion
- imperfectability — The quality of not being perfectable; of being forever imperfect.
- insufferableness — The state of being insufferable.
- intake of breath — When someone takes an intake of breath, they breathe in quickly and noisily, usually because they are shocked at something.
- irrefragableness — The quality or degree of being irrefragable.
- madame butterfly — an opera (1904) by Giacomo Puccini.
- make a break for — run towards
- medal of bravery — a Canadian award for courage
- modacrylic fiber — any of various synthetic copolymer textile fibers, as Dynel, containing less than 85 percent but more than 35 percent of acrylonitrile.
- mossbauer effect — the phenomenon in which an atom in a crystal undergoes no recoil when emitting a gamma ray, giving all the emitted energy to the gamma ray, resulting in a sharply defined wavelength.
- non-transferable — to convey or remove from one place, person, etc., to another: He transferred the package from one hand to the other.
- north battleford — a city in W central Saskatchewan, in central Canada.
- outboard profile — an exterior side elevation of a vessel, showing all deck structures, rigging, fittings, etc.
- pass-band filter — band-pass filter
- performance bond — contract bond.
- permafrost table — the variable surface constituting the upper limit of permafrost. Compare frostline (def 2).
- platform-balance — a scale with a platform for holding the items to be weighed.
- ramen profitable — If a startup business is ramen profitable, it is barely profitable, just enough to allow the founder to live on the cheapest diet.
- raspberry sawfly — a black sawfly, Monophadnoides geniculatus, the larvae of which feed on the leaves of the raspberry and blackberry.
- right about face — Military. a command, given to a soldier or soldiers at attention, to turn the body about toward the right so as to face in the opposite direction. the act of so turning in a prescribed military manner.
- sabattier effect — the alteration of the image tones of a photographic print by briefly reexposing the negative after it has been partially developed.
- self-approbation — approval; commendation.
- self-elaboration — an act or instance of elaborating.
- self-lubricating — to apply some oily or greasy substance to (a machine, parts of a mechanism, etc.) in order to diminish friction; oil or grease (something).
- self-lubrication — the process of becoming lubricated without external factors
- self-observation — an act or instance of noticing or perceiving.