14-letter words containing k, i, r, e
- kakistocracies — Plural form of kakistocracy.
- kapellmeisters — Plural form of kapellmeister.
- karitane nurse — a nurse trained in the care of young babies and their mothers according to the principles of the Plunket Society
- keep a rein on — to check, control, or restrain
- kegel exercise — Often, Kegel exercises. exercise performed to strengthen the pubococcygeus and other muscles of the pelvic floor, in order to control incontinence, improve sexual response, etc.
- kelp greenling — a food and game fish, Hexagrammos decagrammus, living among the kelp along the Pacific coast of North America.
- kelyphitic rim — a mineral shell enclosing another mineral in an igneous rock, formed by reaction of the interned mineral with the surrounding rock
- kenilworth ivy — a European climbing vine, Cymbalaria muralis, of the figwort family, having irregularly lobed leaves and small, lilac-blue flowers.
- kentish plover — Charadrius alexandrinus, a small wading bird belonging to the plover family, breeding in the tropics and subtropics; it is white and greyish-brown, with black legs and bill
- kentucky fried — Southern-fried (def 1).
- kentucky rifle — a long-barreled muzzleloading flintlock rifle developed near Lancaster, Pa., in the early 18th century and widely used on the frontier.
- keratinization — Conversion into keratin or keratinous tissue.
- keratinophilic — (of a plant such as a fungus) growing on keratinous substances such as hair, hooves, nails, etc
- khirbet qumran — an archaeological site in W Jordan, near the NW coast of the Dead Sea: Dead Sea Scrolls found here 1947.
- khmer republic — a former official name of Cambodia.
- kidney failure — loss of renal function
- kierkegaardian — of, relating to, or resembling the philosophy or religious views of Kierkegaard.
- kilogram-force — a meter-kilogram-second unit of force, equal to the force that produces an acceleration equal to the acceleration of gravity, when acting on a mass of one kilogram. Abbreviation: kgf.
- kilogram-meter — a meter-kilogram-second unit of work or energy, equal to the work done by a force of one kilogram when its point of application moves through a distance of one meter in the direction of the force; approximately 7.2 foot-pounds. Abbreviation: kg-m.
- kindergardener — Misspelling of kindergartner.
- kindergartener — a child who attends a kindergarten.
- kindergartners — Plural form of kindergartner.
- kindred spirit — likeminded person
- kinematic pair — pair1 (def 10).
- kinetic energy — the energy of a body or a system with respect to the motion of the body or of the particles in the system.
- kinetic theory — the theory that the minute particles of all matter are in constant motion and that the temperature of a substance is dependent on the velocity of this motion, increased motion being accompanied by increased temperature: according to the kinetic theory of gases, the elasticity, diffusion, pressure, and other physical properties of a gas are due to the rapid motion in straight lines of its molecules, to their impacts against each other and the walls of the container, to weak cohesive forces between molecules, etc.
- king's pattern — a spoon pattern of the 19th century having a stem decorated with threads, scrolls, and shell motifs.
- king's weather — fine weather; weather fit for a king.
- kirghiz steppe — a steppe in Kazakhstan.
- kiss principle — /kis' prin'si-pl/ Keep It Simple, Stupid. A maxim often invoked when discussing design to fend off creeping featurism and control complexity of development. Possibly related to the marketroid maxim on sales presentations, "Keep It Short and Simple". See also Occam's Razor.
- kissing bridge — a covered bridge.
- kitchen garden — a garden where vegetables, herbs, and fruit are grown for one's own use.
- kitty-cornered — cater-cornered
- kleptoparasite — A bird, insect, or other animal that habitually robs animals of other species of food.
- knee-trembling — very exciting
- knickerbockers — Also, knickerbockers [nik-er-bok-erz] /ˈnɪk ərˌbɒk ərz/ (Show IPA). loose-fitting short trousers gathered in at the knees.
- knight templar — Templar.
- lacrosse stick — stick: for lacrosse
- lake maracaibo — a lake in NW Venezuela, linked with the Gulf of Venezuela by a dredged channel: centre of the Venezuelan and South American oil industry. Area: about 13 000 sq km (500 sq miles)
- lake nicaragua — a lake in SW Nicaragua, separated from the Pacific by an isthmus 19 km (12 miles) wide: the largest lake in Central America. Area: 8264 sq km (3191 sq miles)
- lake trasimene — a lake in central Italy, in Umbria: the largest lake in central Italy; scene of Hannibal's victory over the Romans in 217 bc. Area: 128 sq km (49 sq miles)
- landing strake — the next strake of planking in an open boat below the sheer strake.
- lexington park — a town in S Maryland.
- library ticket — a ticket admitting a person access to a library, esp a reference library
- licorice stick — a clarinet.
- like a dervish — If you say that someone is like a dervish, you mean that they are turning round and round, waving their arms about, or working very quickly.
- like clockwork — the mechanism of a clock.
- linkage editor — linker
- linkage-editor — a system program that combines independently compiled object modules or load modules into a single load module.
- load-line mark — any of various marks by which the allowable loading and the load line at load displacement are established for a merchant vessel; a load line.