18-letter words containing m, e, f
- foundation garment — an undergarment, as a girdle or corset, worn by women to support or give shape to the contours of the body.
- four-color problem — the problem, solved in 1976, of proving the theorem that any geographic map can be colored using only four colors so that no connected countries with a common boundary are colored the same color.
- fourth commandment — “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy”: fourth of the Ten Commandments.
- fragile x syndrome — a widespread form of mental retardation caused by a faulty gene on the X chromosome.
- fragile-x syndrome — an inherited condition characterized by learning disability: affected individuals have an X-chromosome that is easily damaged under certain conditions
- fragmentation bomb — a bomb designed to break into many small, high-velocity fragments when detonated.
- frame of reference — a structure of concepts, values, customs, views, etc., by means of which an individual or group perceives or evaluates data, communicates ideas, and regulates behavior.
- frequency spectrum — The frequency spectrum of an electrical signal is the distribution of the amplitudes and phases of each frequency component against frequency.
- from stem to stern — If something happens from stem to stern on a boat, it involves the whole of the boat.
- from the ground up — the solid surface of the earth; firm or dry land: to fall to the ground.
- from the housetops — publicly and widely
- fu manchu mustache — a mustache whose ends droop to the chin.
- fulminating powder — powder that explodes by percussion.
- gainful employment — an occupation that pays an income
- gene amplification — an increase in the frequency of replication of a DNA segment.
- german east africa — a former German territory in E Africa, the area now comprised of continental Tanzania and the independent republics of Rwanda and Burundi.
- government deficit — A government deficit is a situation in which a government spends more money than it has.
- grease the palm of — to influence by giving money to; bribe
- grist for the mill — If you say that something is grist for the mill, you mean that it is useful for a particular purpose or helps support someone's point of view.
- gulf stream system — a major ocean-current system consisting of the Gulf Stream and the Florida and North Atlantic currents.
- haemorrhagic fever — any of a group of fevers, such as Ebola virus disease and yellow fever, characterized by internal bleeding or bleeding into the skin
- heat of combustion — the heat evolved when one mole of a substance is burnt in oxygen at constant volume
- hedge fund manager — a person in charge of managing a hedge fund and making its investments
- helmholtz function — the thermodynamic function of a system that is equal to its internal energy minus the product of its absolute temperature and entropy: A decrease in the function is equal to the maximum amount of work available during a reversible isothermal process.
- home of the hirsel — Baron, title of Sir Alec Douglas-Home, formerly 14th Earl of Home. 1903–95, British Conservative statesman: he renounced his earldom to become prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1963–64); foreign secretary (1970–74)
- honeysuckle family — the plant family Caprifoliaceae, typified by shrubs and woody vines having opposite leaves, clusters of usually flaring, narrow, tubular flowers, and various types of fruit, and including the elder, honeysuckle, snowberry, twinflower, and viburnum.
- hydroflumethiazide — A diuretic drug.
- i'll eat my hat if — I will be greatly surprised if (something happens that proves me wrong)
- immunodeficiencies — Plural form of immunodeficiency.
- immunofluorescence — any of various techniques for detecting an antigen or antibody in a sample by coupling its specifically interactive antibody or antigen to a fluorescent compound, mixing with the sample, and observing the reaction under an ultraviolet-light microscope.
- in complete flower — a flower without one or more of the normal parts, as carpels, sepals, petals, pistils, or stamens.
- in the affirmative — positively, by saying yes
- in the mood for/to — If you say that you are in the mood for something, you mean that you want to do it or have it. If you say that you are in no mood to do something, you mean that you do not want to do it or have it.
- in the name of sth — If you do something in the name of an ideal or an abstract thing, you do it in order to preserve or promote that thing.
- information bureau — an office where you can go to get information
- information centre — help desk, office
- information office — an office where you can go to get information
- information system — a computer system or set of components for collecting, creating, storing, processing, and distributing information, typically including hardware and software, system users, and the data itself: the use of information systems to solve business problems.
- information theory — the mathematical theory concerned with the content, transmission, storage, and retrieval of information, usually in the form of messages or data, and especially by means of computers.
- informatory double — a double intended to inform one's partner that one has a strong hand and to urge a bid regardless of the strength of his or her hand.
- infrared astronomy — the study of infrared radiation emitted by celestial objects.
- intermittent fever — a malarial fever in which feverish periods lasting a few hours alternate with periods in which the temperature is normal.
- king-of-the-salmon — a ribbonfish, Trachypterus altivelis, of northern parts of the Pacific Ocean.
- lambeth conference — a convention of the bishops of the Anglican communion, held about every 10 years at Lambeth Palace to confer but not to define doctrine or to legislate on ecclesiastical matters.
- lean manufacturing — efficiency in the production of goods
- lone-parent family — a family in which there is only one parent
- loosestrife family — the plant family Lythraceae, characterized by herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees having usually opposite or whorled, simple leaves, clusters of flowers, and fruit in the form of a capsule, and including the crape myrtle, loosestrifes of the genus Lythrum, and the henna shrub.
- magnetic amplifier — an amplifier that applies the input signal to a primary winding and feeds an alternating current to a secondary winding where this current is modulated by the variations in the primary winding.
- make a beeline for — head directly towards
- make a meal of sth — If you think someone is taking more time and energy to do something than is necessary, you can say that they are making a meal of it.