16-letter words containing f, e, r, m, a
- fermat's theorem — the theorem that an integer raised to a prime power leaves the same remainder as the integer itself when divided by the prime.
- fertile material — material which can be converted into a fissile material by a neutron-induced nuclear reaction, as uranium-238 or thorium-232
- fibonacci number — a number in the Fibonacci sequence, each of which is the sum of the previous two
- finance minister — a member of a government in charge of the financial affairs of a state etc
- firewall machine — (networking, security) A dedicated gateway server with special security precautions on it, used to service external connections (typically from the public Internet). The firewall machine protects servers and networks hidden behind it from crackers. The typical firewall is an inexpensive microprocessor-based Unix machine with no critical data, with public network ports on it, but just one carefully watched connection back to the rest of the cluster. The special precautions may include threat monitoring, call-back, and even a complete iron box keyable to particular incoming IDs or activity patterns. The type of network and security environment of a firewall machine is often called a De-Militarised Zone (DMZ). It may contain other servers such as e-mail servers or proxy gateways - machines that need to be publicly accessible but also need some access to internal systems. Also known as a (Venus) flytrap after the insect-eating plant.
- 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.
- fisherman's knot — a knot for joining two ropes of equal thickness consisting of an overhand knot or double overhand knot by each rope round the other, so that the two knots jam when pulled tight
- fisherman's ring — the signet ring worn by the pope.
- 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
- flashbulb memory — the clear recollections that a person may have of the circumstances associated with a dramatic event
- fluorescent lamp — a tubular electric discharge lamp in which light is produced by the fluorescence of phosphors coating the inside of the tube.
- follow-my-leader — a game in which the players must repeat the actions of the leader
- 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 good measure — a unit or standard of measurement: weights and measures.
- for the meantime — For the meantime means for a period of time from now until something else happens.
- 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.
- fortin barometer — an adjustable cistern barometer, the most common of those employing mercury.
- four-course meal — A four-course meal is a meal that consists of four parts served one after the other.
- four-dimensional — of a space having points, or a set having elements, which require four coordinates for their unique determination.
- four-masted brig — jackass bark (def 2).
- fourth amendment — an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, prohibiting unlawful search and seizure of personal property.
- franking machine — a machine that franks letters
- frederic mistral — Frédéric [frey-dey-reek] /freɪ deɪˈrik/ (Show IPA), 1830–1914, French Provençal poet: Nobel prize 1904.
- freight terminal — (on a rail network) a place where freight is stored while awaiting onward transport
- french cameroons — Cameroun (def 2).
- french ice cream — a type of ice cream in which an egg and cream mixture is cooked to a light custard before being frozen.
- 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.
- from one's heart — very sincerely or deeply
- fund supermarket — an online facility offering discounted investment opportunities and advice
- fundamental star — one of a number of stars with positions that have been determined accurately and that are used as reference stars for the determination of positions of other celestial objects.
- general factotum — a person who does all sorts of jobs; general assistant
- gentleman friend — a man with whom a woman is romantically involved; suitor.
- gentleman-farmer — a man whose wealth or income from other sources permits him to farm for pleasure rather than for basic income.
- grim file reaper — (storage, operating system) (GFR) An ITS and LISP Machine utility to remove files according to some program-automated or semi-automatic manual procedure, especially one designed to reclaim mass storage space or reduce name-space clutter (the original GFR actually moved files to tape). See also prowler, reaper. Compare GC, which discards only provably worthless stuff.
- have no time for — not tolerate
- head normal form — (theory, reduction) (HNF) A term describing a lambda expression whose top level is either a variable, a data value, a built-in function applied to too few arguments, or a lambda abstraction whose body is not reducible. I.e. the top level is neither a redex nor a lambda abstraction with a reducible body. An expression in HNF may contain redexes in argument postions whereas a normal form may not. Compare Weak Head Normal Form.
- headhunting firm — a recruiting agency
- high-performance — A high-performance car or other product goes very fast or does a lot.
- homme d'affaires — a businessman.
- 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.
- infernal machine — a concealed or disguised explosive device intended to destroy life or property.
- information desk — helpdesk, information point
- ivyleaf geranium — a geranium plant, pelargonium peltatum, with trailing leaves and white, pink, red, or violet flowers
- joachim of fiore — ?1132–1202 ad, Italian mystic and philosopher, best known for teaching that history can be divided into three ages, those of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
- kekule's formula — the structural formula of benzene represented as a hexagonal ring with alternate single and double bonds between the carbon atoms.
- kingdom of arles — a kingdom in SE France which had dissolved by 1378: known as the Kingdom of Burgundy until about 1200