16-letter words containing i, n, f, e, r
- ferruginous duck — a common European duck, Aythyra nyroca, having reddish-brown plumage with white wing bars
- fertile crescent — an agricultural region extending from the Levant to Iraq.
- fertility clinic — a place at which a couple who are unable to conceive may receive medical advice and treatments to help them to have a child
- 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
- 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, . . .
- fielding average — a measure of the fielding ability of a player, obtained by dividing the number of put-outs and assists by the number of put-outs, assists, and errors and carrying out the result to three decimal places. A player with ten errors in 600 chances has a fielding average of .984.
- fifth-generation — denoting developments in computer design to produce machines with artificial intelligence
- figure-conscious — concerned to keep an attractively slim body shape
- file compression — (algorithm) The compression of data in a file, usually to reduce storage requirements.
- filter promotion — (algorithm) In a generate and test algorithm, combining part of the filter with the generator in order to reduce the number of potential solutions generated. A trivial example: filter (< 100) [1..1000] ==> [1..99] where [1..n] generates the list of integers from 1 to n. Here the filter has been combined completely with the generator. This is an example of fusion.
- finance director — financial manager
- finance minister — a member of a government in charge of the financial affairs of a state etc
- finger exercises — exercises that are intended to increase the flexibility and dexterity of a player's fingers
- fingertip search — When the police carry out a fingertip search of a place, they examine it for evidence in a very detailed way.
- finished product — the product that emerges at the end of a manufacturing process
- finless porpoise — a porpoise Neophocaena phocaenoides of the Indian and pacific Oceans that completely lacks a dorsal fin
- fire regulations — rules intended to make sure that people and property stay safe in the event of a fire
- 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.
- first generation — 1. (architecture) first generation computer. 2. (language) first generation language.
- first lieutenant — an officer ranking next above second lieutenant and next below a captain.
- first-generation — being the first generation of a family to be born in a particular country.
- 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.
- fissure eruption — the emergence of lava from a fissure in the ground rather than from a volcanic cone or vent
- fixed-price menu — In a restaurant, the cost of a meal on a fixed-price menu stays the same and does not vary.
- flabbergastation — (colloquial) Bewildered shock or surprise; the state or condition of being flabbergasted.
- flabbergastingly — Surprisingly, astonishingly or amazingly.
- flash eliminator — a device fitted to the muzzle of a firearm to reduce the flash made by the ignited propellant gases
- florencio varela — a city in E Argentina, near Buenos Aires.
- floridean starch — the storage polysaccharide of red algae.
- flower arranging — Flower arranging is the art or hobby of arranging cut flowers in a way which makes them look attractive.
- flowering quince — any shrub belonging to the genus Chaenomeles, of the rose family, native to eastern Asia, having showy, waxy flowers and a quincelike fruit, grown widely as an ornamental.
- flutter tonguing — a method of sounding a wind instrument, esp the flute, with a rolling movement of the tongue
- flying phalanger — any of various small phalangers of Australia and New Guinea, having a parachutelike fold of skin on each side of the body to give gliding assistance in leaping.
- food intolerance — an intolerance of a specific type of food, causing an adverse reaction
- foot in the door — If you say that something helps someone to get their foot in the door or their toe in the door, you mean that it gives them an opportunity to start doing something new, usually in an area that is difficult to succeed in.
- 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 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.
- foreign commerce — an interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale between different countries (foreign commerce) or between different parts of the same country (domestic commerce) trade; business.
- foreign currency — money used in another country
- foreign exchange — commercial paper drawn on a person or corporation in a foreign nation.
- foreign language — language not one's mother tongue
- foreign minister — (in countries other than the U.S.) a cabinet minister who conducts and supervises foreign and diplomatic relations with other states. Also called, especially British, foreign secretary. Compare secretary of state (def 1).