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16-letter words containing f, r, e, o, b

  • embroidery frame — a frame in the form of a pair of (usually circular) rings, designed to keep the fabric taut while an embroiderer works on it
  • false beechdrops — either of two parasitic or saprophytic plants of the genus Monotropa, especially the tawny or reddish M. hypopithys (false beechdrops) of eastern North America.
  • 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.
  • fertility symbol — an object, esp a phallic symbol, used in fertility-cult ceremonies to symbolize regeneration
  • 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, . . .
  • fire-tube boiler — any boiler for generating steam by passing hot gases and other combustible products through tubes (fire tubes) immersed in water to a chimney or uptake.
  • flabbergastation — (colloquial) Bewildered shock or surprise; the state or condition of being flabbergasted.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • forbes-robertson — Sir Johnston, 1853–1937, English actor and theatrical manager.
  • 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
  • full to the brim — If something, especially a container, is filled to the brim or full to the brim with something, it is filled right up to the top.
  • grant of probate — a certificate stating that a will is valid
  • hold a brief for — to argue for; champion
  • intake of breath — When someone takes an intake of breath, they breathe in quickly and noisily, usually because they are shocked at something.
  • job's comforters — a person who unwittingly or maliciously depresses or discourages someone while attempting to be consoling.
  • 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.
  • off-by-one error — (programming)   (Or "Obi-Wan error") An exceedingly common error induced in many ways, such as by starting at zero when you should have started at one or vice-versa, or by writing "< N" instead of "<= N" or vice-versa. Often confounded with fencepost error, which is properly a particular subtype of it. The term zeroth corrects the linguistic off-by-one error of, e.g., referring to the "1st" element of an array whose indexes start from zero.
  • one for the book — a handwritten or printed work of fiction or nonfiction, usually on sheets of paper fastened or bound together within covers.
  • outboard profile — an exterior side elevation of a vessel, showing all deck structures, rigging, fittings, etc.
  • 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.
  • powerfully built — (of a person, esp a man) big and physically strong, with large muscles
  • prisoner of bill — (humour)   (PoB) A derisory term, in use generally among Unix users, for anyone who uses Microsoft products either because they don't know there is anything better (i.e. Unix) or because they would be incapable of working anything more complex (i.e. Unix). The interesting and widespread presumption among users of the term is that (at least at the time of writing, 1998) using anything other than Unix or a Microsoft OS (whether VMS, Macintosh, Amiga) is so eccentric a choice as to be at least somewhat praiseworthy.
  • 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.
  • red flour beetle — a reddish-brown flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, that feeds on stored grain, dried fruit, etc.
  • remember oneself — to recover one's good manners after a lapse; stop behaving badly
  • 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.
  • robin goodfellow — Puck (def 1).
  • self-approbation — approval; commendation.
  • self-elaboration — an act or instance of elaborating.
  • self-lubrication — the process of becoming lubricated without external factors
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