16-letter words containing l, s, e, r
- kamerlingh-onnes — Heike (ˈhaɪkə). 1853–1926, Dutch physicist: a pioneer of the physics of low-temperature materials and discoverer (1911) of superconductivity. Nobel prize for physics 1913
- kangaroo closure — a form of closure in which the chair or speaker selects certain amendments for discussion and excludes others
- karelian isthmus — a narrow strip of land between Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland, in the NW Russian Federation.
- kekulé structure — the structure of many molecules, notably benzene, suggested by Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz (1829–96), the German chemist
- kekule's formula — the structural formula of benzene represented as a hexagonal ring with alternate single and double bonds between the carbon atoms.
- kepler telescope — astronomical telescope.
- khakass republic — a constituent republic of S central Russia, formerly in Krasnoyarsk Territory: formed in 1930. Capital: Abakan. Pop: 546 100 (2002). Area: 61 900 sq km (23 855 sq miles)
- kidney corpuscle — Malpighian corpuscle.
- killer satellite — an orbiting satellite that can be maneuvered to approach a target satellite and destroy it by exploding
- kingdom of arles — a kingdom in SE France which had dissolved by 1378: known as the Kingdom of Burgundy until about 1200
- kirribilli house — the official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister
- kleptoparasitism — The parasitic theft of captured prey, nest material, etc. from animals of the same or another species.
- knapsack problem — the problem of determining which numbers from a given collection of numbers have been added together to yield a specific sum: used in cryptography to encipher (and sometimes decipher) messages.
- krebs urea cycle — urea cycle.
- labour relations — Labour relations refers to the relationship between employers and employees in industry, and the political decisions and laws that affect it.
- labour-intensive — Labour-intensive industries or methods of making things involve a lot of workers. Compare capital-intensive.
- lactovegetarians — Plural form of lactovegetarian.
- ladies auxiliary — an association whose members are usually the wives of members of an association with which it is affiliated.
- ladies'-eardrops — lady's-earrings.
- ladies'-earrings — lady's-earrings.
- lady of pleasure — a prostitute.
- lake saint clair — a lake between SE Michigan and Ontario: linked with Lake Huron by the St Clair River and with Lake Erie by the Detroit River. Area: 1191 sq km (460 sq miles)
- lancashire chair — a chair similar to a Windsor chair, having a rush seat and a back formed of spindles.
- larsen ice shelf — an ice barrier in Antarctica, in the NW Weddell Sea, on the E coast of the Antarctic Peninsula: first explored 1893.
- laserdisc player — a device that plays laserdiscs
- lateral meristem — meristem located along the sides of a part, as a stem or root.
- latter-day saint — a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- lauderdale lakes — a city in SE Florida: suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
- laurentides park — a national park in SE Canada, in Quebec province between the St. Lawrence and Lake St. John.
- lawson criterion — (in a hypothetical nuclear fusion reactor) the requirement that in order for the energy produced by fusion to exceed the energy expended in causing the fusion, the product of the density of the fuel and the time during which it is confined at that density (Lawson product) must be greater than a certain number that depends on the kind of fuel used.
- learner's permit — A learner's permit is a license that allows you to drive a vehicle before you have passed your driving test.
- learning process — a process of learning
- leasehold reform — reform of the law relating to leasehold property
- least flycatcher — a small flycatcher, Empidonax minimus, of eastern North America.
- left parenthesis — (character) "(". ASCII character 40. Common names: left paren; left parenthesis; left; open; paren (")" = thesis); open paren; open parenthesis; left parenthesis; left banana. Rare: so (")" = already); lparen; ITU-T: opening parenthesis; open round bracket, left round bracket, INTERCAL: wax (")" = wane); parenthisey (")" = unparenthisey); left ear. Paired with right parenthesis (")").
- legal separation — judicial separation.
- leisure sickness — a medical condition in which people who have been working become ill with symptoms such as fatigue or muscular pains at a weekend or while on holiday
- leptosporangiate — (of ferns) having each sporangium developing from a single cell, rather than from a group, and normally with specialized explosive spore dispersal
- lesser celandine — a Eurasian plant, Ranunculus ficaria, of the buttercup family, having heart-shaped leaves and glossy yellow flowers, naturalized in North America.
- lesser sanhedrin — Sanhedrin (def 2).
- lesser spearwort — a Eurasian ranunculaceous plant, R. flammula, of the genus Ranunculus, which grows in wet places and has long narrow leaves and yellow flowers
- levallois-perret — a suburb of Paris, in N France, on the Seine.
- level descriptor — one of a set of criteria used to assess the performance of a pupil in a particular subject
- lever escapement — an escapement in which a pivoted lever, made to oscillate by the escape wheel, engages a balance staff and causes it to oscillate.
- lewis and harris — the northernmost island of the Hebrides, in NW Scotland. 825 sq. mi. (2135 sq. km).
- lexical analyser — (language) (Or "scanner") The initial input stage of a language processor (e.g. a compiler), the part that performs lexical analysis.
- libation-bearers — Choëphori.
- liberal unionist — a Liberal who opposed Gladstone's policy of Irish Home Rule in 1886 and after
- library pictures — a caption used to alert viewers that footage being broadcast is from an earlier time and is not happening now
- lick observatory — the astronomical observatory of the University of California, situated on Mount Hamilton, near San Jose, California, and having a 120-inch (3-meter) reflecting telescope and a 36-inch (91-cm) refracting telescope.