17-letter words containing f, i, r, e, a
- graafian follicle — one of the small vesicles containing a developing ovum in the ovary of a mammal.
- grain of paradise — Usually, grains of paradise. one of the pungent, peppery seeds of an African plant, Aframomum melegueta, of the ginger family, used to strengthen cordials and in veterinary medicine.
- grapefruit league — a series of training games played by major-league teams before the opening of the season (so named because they take place in the citrus-growing South, as in Florida).
- great rift valley — a series of rift valleys running from N to S, from the Jordan Valley in SW Asia to Mozambique in SE Africa.
- great vowel shift — a series of changes in the quality of the long vowels between Middle and Modern English as a result of which all were raised, while the high vowels (ē) and (o̅o̅), already at the upper limit, underwent breaking to become the diphthongs (ī) and (ou).
- grooved fricative — a fricative, as (s), in which air is channeled through a groove along the center of the tongue.
- guerrilla warfare — the use of hit-and-run tactics by small, mobile groups of irregular forces operating in territory controlled by a hostile, regular force.
- guinea-hen flower — checkered lily.
- hairline fracture — a very fine crack in a bone
- half-round chisel — a cold chisel with a semicircular cutting edge used for making narrow channels
- hall of residence — Halls of residence are buildings with rooms or flats, usually built by universities or colleges, in which students live during the term.
- have feelings for — to be emotionally or sexually attracted to
- have it in for sb — If someone has it in for you, they dislike you and try to cause problems for you.
- head of the river — any of various annual rowing regattas held on particular rivers
- heat of formation — the heat evolved or absorbed when one mole of a compound is formed from its constituent atoms
- hemorrhagic fever — any of several arbovirus infections, as dengue, characterized by fever, chills, and malaise followed by hemorrhages of capillaries, sometimes leading to kidney failure and death.
- hybrid fiber coax — (networking) (HFC) A kind of physical connection used in networks for audio, video, and data. DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) is used in Europe and DOCSIS is used in N America.
- hyperinflationary — (economics) Having very high levels of inflation.
- image intensifier — any of various devices for amplifying the intensity of an optical image, sometimes used in conjunction with an image converter
- impersonification — (archaic) the act of impersonating; impersonation.
- improper fraction — a fraction having the numerator greater than the denominator.
- in forma pauperis — as a poor person; i.e. without paying court costs
- in the market for — an open place or a covered building where buyers and sellers convene for the sale of goods; a marketplace: a farmers' market.
- induction furnace — a type of electric furnace used for melting a charge of scrap by the heat produced by its own electrical resistance.
- inertial platform — self-contained navigational devices used in inertial guidance, along with their mounting.
- infinite integral — improper integral (def 1).
- infinitive marker — a word or affix occurring with the verb stem in the infinitive, such as to in to make
- integral function — an entire function.
- intensive farming — battery rearing of animals
- interconfessional — common to or occurring between churches having different confessions.
- interfenestration — a space between two windows.
- interference drag — the drag on an aircraft caused by the interaction of two aerodynamic bodies.
- interim financing — temporary financing
- internal conflict — psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character, the resolution of which creates the plot's suspense: Hamlet's inaction is caused by internal conflict.
- interprofessional — following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain: a professional builder.
- intraspecifically — Between individuals of the same species.
- isherwood framing — a system for framing steel vessels in which light, closely spaced, longitudinal frames are connected by heavy, widely spaced transverse frames with deep webs.
- it's your funeral — If someone says to you 'It's your funeral', they think your decision or your actions will have bad consequences for you, but they are unwilling to interfere.
- judgment of paris — the decision by Paris to award Aphrodite the golden apple of discord competed for by Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera.
- kolar gold fields — a city in S India, in SE Karnataka: a major gold-mining centre since 1881. Pop: 176 000 (2005 est)
- law of reflection — the principle that when a ray of light, radar pulse, or the like, is reflected from a smooth surface the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence, and the incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal to the surface at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
- law of refraction — the principle that for a ray, radar pulse, or the like, that is incident on the interface of two media, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is equal to the ratio of the velocity of the ray in the first medium to the velocity in the second medium and the incident ray, refracted ray, and normal to the surface at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
- lie in wait (for) — to wait so as to catch after planning an ambush or trap (for)
- life and/or death — If you say that something is a matter of life and death, you are emphasizing that it is extremely important, often because someone may die or suffer great harm if people do not act immediately.
- life of the party — most lively, outgoing person
- lifelong learning — the provision or use of both formal and informal learning opportunities throughout people's lives in order to foster the continuous development and improvement of the knowledge and skills needed for employment and personal fulfilment
- line of scrimmage — an imaginary line parallel to the goal lines that passes from one sideline to the other through the point of the football closest to the goal line of each team.
- litigation friend — a person acting on behalf of an infant or other person under legal disability
- loose-leaf binder — a hard cover with metal rings inside which is used to hold loose pieces of paper
- magnetizing force — that part of the magnetic induction that is determined at any point in space by the current density and displacement current at that point independently of the magnetic or other physical properties of the surrounding medium. Symbol: H.