16-letter words containing f, o, e, t, a
- factor of safety — the ratio of the maximum stress that a structural part or other piece of material can withstand to the maximum stress estimated for it in the use for which it is designed.
- fade-in fade-out — an optical effect in which a shot appears gradually out of darkness and then gradually disappears
- farewell to arms — a novel (1929) by Ernest Hemingway.
- fast of gedaliah — Tzom Gedaliah.
- father confessor — confessor (def 2).
- father-surrogate — a male who replaces an absent father and becomes an object of attachment.
- federation wheat — an early-maturing drought-resistant variety of wheat developed by William Farrar in 1902
- 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.
- feel constrained — If you feel constrained to do something, you feel that you must do it, even though you would prefer not to.
- feel-good factor — When journalists refer to the feel-good factor, they mean that people are feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future.
- fellow traveller — a companion on a journey
- feme-sole trader — a married woman who is entitled to carry on business on her own account and responsibility, independently of her husband.
- 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.
- ferrous sulphate — an iron salt with a saline taste, usually obtained as greenish crystals of the heptahydrate, which are converted to the white monohydrate above 100°C: used in inks, tanning, water purification, and in the treatment of anaemia. Formula: FeSO4
- fertility factor — a sex-determining chromosome or gene.
- feulgen reaction — a reaction in which an aldehyde combines with a modified Schiff's reagent to produce a purplish compound: used especially to test for the presence of DNA
- fifth-generation — denoting developments in computer design to produce machines with artificial intelligence
- finance director — financial manager
- finite automaton — Finite State Machine
- fire regulations — rules intended to make sure that people and property stay safe in the event of a fire
- first generation — 1. (architecture) first generation computer. 2. (language) first generation language.
- first-aid worker — someone who is trained to give immediate medical help in an emergency
- first-generation — being the first generation of a family to be born in a particular country.
- 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
- fit like a glove — fit perfectly
- flabbergastation — (colloquial) Bewildered shock or surprise; the state or condition of being flabbergasted.
- 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
- 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.
- flatheaded borer — the larva of a metallic wood-boring beetle, having an expanded and flattened anterior end.
- floridean starch — the storage polysaccharide of red algae.
- fluorescent lamp — a tubular electric discharge lamp in which light is produced by the fluorescence of phosphors coating the inside of the tube.
- focused strategy — a business strategy in which an organization divests itself of all but its core activities, using the funds raised to enhance the distinctive abilities that give it an advantage over its rivals
- food intolerance — an intolerance of a specific type of food, causing an adverse reaction
- foot fault judge — on official on the baseline who is responsible for calling foot faults
- football special — a train service provided specially to transport football supporters to and from a match
- 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 external use — If medicine is for external use, it is intended to be used only on the outside of your body, and not to be eaten or drunk.
- for pete's sake! — an expression of frustration, exasperation or annoyance
- for the duration — If you say that something will happen for the duration, you mean that it will happen for as long as a particular situation continues.
- for the meantime — For the meantime means for a period of time from now until something else happens.
- forbid the banns — to raise an objection to a marriage announced in this way
- forced vibration — Forced vibration is a type of vibration in which a force is repeatedly applied to a mechanical system.
- fore and aft rig — a sail set in a line from one end the other of a vessel rather than in a square
- fore-and-aft rig — a rig in which the principal sails are fore-and-aft.
- forefathers' day — the anniversary of the day (December 21, 1620, in Old Style December 11) on which the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Mass. Owing to an error in changing the date from the Old Style to the New, it is generally observed on December 22.
- foreign national — citizen of another country
- 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.
- fort leavenworth — a military reservation and U.S. Army training center in E Kansas adjoining Leavenworth, one of the oldest (1827) military posts W of the Mississippi and site of federal penitentiary.