21-letter words containing m, a, t, r
- forward compatibility — (jargon) The ability to accept input from later versions of itself. Forward compatibility is harder to achieve than backward compatibility, since, in the backward case, the input format is know whereas a forward compatible system needs to cope gracefully with unknown future features. An example of future compatibility is the stipulation that a web browser should ignore HTML tags it does not recognise. See also extensible.
- fragmentation grenade — a grenade with a heavy metal casing that shatters, on exploding, into fragments that travel at high speed and with great force.
- framing specification — A specification of the "protocol bits" that surround the "data bits" on a communications channel to allow the data to be "framed" into chunks, like start and stop bits in EIA-232. It allows a receiver to synchronize at points along the data stream.
- franco-belgian system — French system.
- frankfort on the main — a city in W central Germany, on the Main River.
- frequent wash shampoo — a shampoo whose mildness allows it to be used frequently
- from dan to beersheba — from one end of Israel to the other: Judg. 20:1
- functional imperative — a requirement for the survival of any social system, as communication, control of conflict, or socialization.
- fundamental frequency — the lowest frequency at which a medium will freely oscillate.
- gamma hydroxybutyrate — a substance that occurs naturally in the brain, used medically as a sedative but also as a recreational drug and alleged aphrodisiac: known as 'liquid ecstasy' when mixed with alcohol
- gastrohepatic omentum — lesser omentum.
- gender disappointment — a feeling of depression or anxiety experienced by an expectant parent when the gender of the baby does not match his or her preference
- general court-martial — a court-martial having the authority to try any offense against military law and to impose a sentence of dishonorable discharge or of death when provided by law.
- general of the armies — a special rank held by John J. Pershing, equivalent to general of the army.
- gentleman of the road — a highwayman.
- gentleman's agreement — unwritten rule or agreement
- gentlemen's agreement — an agreement that, although unenforceable at law, is binding as a matter of personal honor.
- get in someone's hair — any of the numerous fine, usually cylindrical, keratinous filaments growing from the skin of humans and animals; a pilus.
- glen of imaal terrier — a strongly-built medium-sized variety of terrier with a medium-length coat and short forelegs
- glyceryl tripalmitate — palmitin.
- government department — a sector of a national or state government that deals with a particular area of interest
- government in waiting — a political group which is hoping to be elected to govern in the near future
- gram-molecular weight — gram molecule. Abbreviation: GMW.
- grammatical inference — Deducing a grammar from given examples. Also known as "inductive inference" and recently as "computational learning".
- great smoky mountains — the W part of the Appalachians, in W North Carolina and E Tennessee. Highest peak: Clingman's Dome, 2024 m (6642 ft)
- gretna green marriage — marriage without parental consent; elopement.
- ground-effect machine — ACV (def 2).
- have a strong stomach — not to be prone to nausea
- henry steele commager — Henry Steele, 1902–98, U.S. historian, author, and teacher.
- highest common factor — greatest common divisor. Abbreviation: H.C.F.
- home improvement loan — a government loan for house improvements such as insulation, adding a bathroom, or urgent repairs
- human rights activist — a person who campaigns for human rights
- hydraulic accumulator — an apparatus in which gas, usually air, is used as a cushion or shock absorber in a hydraulic system.
- hypercholesterolaemia — the condition of having a high concentration of cholesterol in the blood
- hyperlipoproteinaemia — the condition of having an abnormally high level of lipoproteins in the blood
- imprecise probability — (probability) A probability that is represented as an interval (as opposed to a single number) included in [0,1].
- in good circumstances — (of a person) in a good financial situation
- in more ways than one — You say in more ways than one to indicate that what you have said is intended to have more than one meaning.
- in no uncertain terms — If you say that someone tells a person something in no uncertain terms, you are emphasizing that they say it strongly and clearly so that there is no doubt about what they mean.
- industrial misconduct — behaviour by an employee that is considered to be negligent or irregular to such an extent that disciplinary action may be taken, usually by agreement between management and the employee's representatives
- infant mortality rate — number of babies dying
- infectious ectromelia — ectromelia (def 2).
- infertility treatment — treatment aimed at helping a couple conceive
- information appliance — (hardware) (IA) A consumer device that performs only a few targeted tasks and is controlled by a simple touch-screen interface or push buttons on the device's enclosure.
- information gathering — the process of collecting information about something
- information retrieval — the systematic storage and recovery of data, as from a file, card catalog, or the memory bank of a computer. Abbreviation: IR.
- information scientist — someone who works in information science
- inner spring mattress — a mattress with a system of wire coils or springs inside for buoyancy or comfort purposes
- instrumental learning — a method of training in which the reinforcement is made contingent on the occurrence of the response
- isolation transformer — An isolation transformer is a transformer with physically separate primary and secondary windings, that prevent it from transferring unwanted noise from the input circuit to the output windings.