18-letter words containing f, i, r, d
- deferred liability — income received in advance and carried forward as a liability until the associated goods, services, or benefits are delivered
- deliver oneself of — to speak with deliberation or at length
- democratic deficit — any situation in which there is believed to be a lack of democratic accountability and control over the decision-making process
- depth-first search — (algorithm) A graph search algorithm which extends the current path as far as possible before backtracking to the last choice point and trying the next alternative path. Depth-first search may fail to find a solution if it enters a cycle in the graph. This can be avoided if we never extend a path to a node which it already contains. Opposite of breadth first search. See also iterative deepening.
- diaminofluorescein — (organic compound) A fluorescein into which two amino groups have been substituted.
- disenfranchisement — to disfranchise.
- distress frequency — a radio frequency band reserved for emergency signals from aircraft or ships in distress.
- distributed eiffel — ["Distributed Eiffel: A Language for Programming Multi-Granular Distributed Objects on the Clouds Operating System", L. Gunaseelan et al, IEEE Conf Comp Langs, 1992].
- division of labour — a system of organizing the manufacture of an article in a series of separate specialized operations, each of which is carried out by a different worker or group of workers
- dna fingerprinting — the use of a DNA probe for the identification of an individual, as for the matching of genes from a forensic sample with those of a criminal suspect.
- dried-fruit beetle — a small beetle, Carpophilus hemipterus, of worldwide distribution, that infests ripe, dried, and fermenting fruits, especially figs and dates.
- duty-free shopping — the making of duty-free purchases
- dwarf storage unit — (humour) (DSU) An IBM term for a cupboard.
- fabric conditioner — a product used when washing clothes to make them feel softer
- farmer in the dell — a game, accompanied by a song with several verses, in which one person, designated as the farmer, occupies the center of a circle of persons and is joined in the circle by other players designated as wife, child, nurse, cat, rat, and cheese, these then leaving the circle in order except for the one designated as cheese, who is left standing alone in the circle at the end.
- fast-food industry — the industry surrounding fast-food restaurants
- fatty degeneration — deterioration of the cells of the body, accompanied by the formation of fat globules within the diseased cells.
- feldenkrais method — a system of gentle movements that promote flexibility, coordination, and self-awareness
- ferdinand magellan — Ferdinand, c1480–1521, Portuguese navigator: discoverer of the Straits of Magellan 1520 and the Philippines 1521.
- ferdinand schiller — Ferdinand Canning Scott [kan-ing] /ˈkæn ɪŋ/ (Show IPA), 1864–1937, English philosopher in the U.S.
- ferrite-rod aerial — a type of aerial, normally used in radio reception, consisting of a small coil of wire mounted on a ferrite core, the coil serving as a tuning inductance
- fettuccine alfredo — fettuccine in cream sauce with grated Parmesan cheese.
- fire and brimstone — When people talk about fire and brimstone, they are referring to hell and how they think people are punished there after death.
- fire-and-brimstone — threatening punishment in the hereafter: a fire-and-brimstone sermon.
- first and foremost — primarily
- first class module — (programming) A module that is a first class data object of the programming language, e.g. a record containing functions. In a functional language, it is standard to have first class programs, so program building blocks can have the same status.
- first duke of york — a member of the royal house of England that ruled from 1461 to 1485.
- fissure of rolando — central sulcus.
- five hundred rummy — a variety of rummy in which the winner is the first player to score 500 points.
- fixed-focus camera — a camera with an unadjustable focal length and with a relatively large depth of field.
- fixed-radio access — Wireless Local Loop
- fixed-term tenancy — a tenancy arrangement for a particular and fixed period
- flat-bottomed rail — a rail having a cross section like an inverted T, with the top extremity enlarged slightly to form the head
- floating underflow — underflow
- forced perspective — the use of objects or images that are larger or smaller than they should be, to suggest that they are nearer or further away than they really are
- fore-edge painting — a technique of painting a picture on the fore edge of a book, often in such a manner that only when the pages are slightly fanned the picture is revealed.
- foreign-trade zone — free port (def 1).
- forgive and forget — be reconciled
- forward compatible — forward compatibility
- forwarding address — address for mail to be sent on
- foundation garment — an undergarment, as a girdle or corset, worn by women to support or give shape to the contours of the body.
- four-legged friend — a four-legged animal, esp a dog
- fragile x syndrome — a widespread form of mental retardation caused by a faulty gene on the X chromosome.
- fragile-x syndrome — an inherited condition characterized by learning disability: affected individuals have an X-chromosome that is easily damaged under certain conditions
- francisco coronado — Francisco Vásquez de [frahn-thees-kaw bahs-keth th e,, frahn-sees-kaw bahs-kes] /frɑnˈθis kɔ ˈbɑs kɛθ ðɛ,, frɑnˈsis kɔ ˈbɑs kɛs/ (Show IPA), 1510–54? Spanish explorer in North America.
- frederick douglass — Frederick, 1817–95, U.S. ex-slave, abolitionist, and orator.
- french west indies — islands in the West Indies that belong to France, including two overseas departments (Martinique & Guadeloupe) & several former dependencies of Guadeloupe
- fringe-toed lizard — an iguanid lizard, Uma notata, of sandy deserts of the western U.S. and Mexico, having a wedge-shaped snout and toes fringed with long, pointed scales.
- fulminating powder — powder that explodes by percussion.
- fuming nitric acid — a colorless, yellowish, or brownish fuming corrosive liquid, usually prepared from nitric acid by the addition of excess nitrogen dioxide: used in organic synthesis for nitration, and as an oxidizer in liquid propellants for rockets.