16-letter words containing o, s, i, f
- firework display — a public event at which fireworks are set alight
- first four ships — the earliest settlers' ships to arrive in the Canterbury Province
- first generation — 1. (architecture) first generation computer. 2. (language) first generation language.
- first-aid worker — someone who is trained to give immediate medical help in an emergency
- first-generation — being the first generation of a family to be born in a particular country.
- fish or cut bait — any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.
- 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
- fissure eruption — the emergence of lava from a fissure in the ground rather than from a volcanic cone or vent
- flabbergastation — (colloquial) Bewildered shock or surprise; the state or condition of being flabbergasted.
- flash eliminator — a device fitted to the muzzle of a firearm to reduce the flash made by the ignited propellant gases
- flash photolysis — the study of photochemical reaction mechanisms in gases by analyzing spectroscopically the reaction products in a gas mixture irradiated with a powerful light flash.
- flight simulator — a device used in pilot and crew training that provides a cockpit environment and sensations of flight under actual conditions.
- floridean starch — the storage polysaccharide of red algae.
- fluosilicic acid — an unstable acid, H 2 SiF 6 , known only in its colorless, poisonous, fuming aqueous solution or in the form of its salts: used chiefly as a wood preservative, a disinfectant, and as a hardening agent in the manufacture of ceramic ware, cement, and concrete.
- folk linguistics — speculation and popular views about language.
- follicular phase — a stage of the menstrual cycle, from onset of menstruation to ovulation.
- football special — a train service provided specially to transport football supporters to and from a match
- footsteps editor — the technician who adds sound effects, such as doors closing, rain falling, etc, during the postproduction sound-dubbing process
- forbid the banns — to raise an objection to a marriage announced in this way
- 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).
- forensic science — the collection of several fields of science to the purposes of law
- forinsec service — foreign service
- forward analysis — An analysis which determines properties of the output of a program from properties of the inputs.
- foundation stone — any of the stones composing the foundation of a building.
- four-dimensional — of a space having points, or a set having elements, which require four coordinates for their unique determination.
- four-masted brig — jackass bark (def 2).
- fourier analysis — the expression of any periodic function as a sum of sine and cosine functions, as in an electromagnetic wave function. Compare Fourier series.
- fourth dimension — Physics, Mathematics. a dimension in addition to length, width, and depth, used so as to be able to employ geometrical language in discussing phenomena that depend on four variables: Time is considered a fourth dimension for locating points in space-time.
- fraises des bois — wild strawberries
- francis joseph i — 1830–1916, emperor of Austria 1848–1916; king of Hungary 1867–1916.
- francis of paula — Saint, 1416–1507, Italian monk: founder of the order of Minims.
- francis of sales — Saint, 1567–1622, French ecclesiastic and writer on theology: bishop of Geneva 1602–22.
- francis townsend — Francis Everett, 1867–1960, U.S. physician and proposer of the Townsend plan.
- francisco franco — Francisco (Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco-Bahamonde"El Caudillo") 1892–1975, Spanish military leader and dictator: chief of state 1939–47; regent of the kingdom of Spain 1947–75.
- fraternity house — a house occupied by a college or university fraternity.
- fraunhofer lines — a set of dark lines appearing in the continuous emission spectrum of the sun. It is caused by the absorption of light of certain wavelengths coming from the hotter region of the sun by elements in the cooler outer atmosphere
- free association — the uncensored expression of the ideas, impressions, etc., passing through the mind of the analysand, a technique used to facilitate access to the unconscious.
- french polynesia — a French overseas territory in the S Pacific, including the Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, and other scattered island groups. 1544 sq. mi. (4000 sq. km). Capital: Papeete.
- friendly society — law: mutual group providing benefits
- frontier dispute — a conflict concerning a frontier between countries and which usually involves those countries
- fuel consumption — use of a material to generate power
- fullness of time — the proper or destined time.
- functional shift — a change in the grammatical function of a word, as in the use of the noun input as a verb or the noun fun as an adjective.
- functionlessness — The quality or state of being functionless.
- furniture polish — product: shines wood
- gas blowoff line — A gas blowoff line is a safety device to control sudden increases in pressure.
- gas liquefaction — Gas liquefaction is the process of refrigerating a gas to a temperature that is below its critical temperature in order to form a liquid.
- go off the rails — If someone goes off the rails, they start to behave in a way that other people think is unacceptable or very strange, for example they start taking drugs or breaking the law.
- go-faster stripe — a decorative line, intended to be suggestive of high speed, on the bodywork of a car
- goosefoot family — formerly, the plant family Chenopodiaceae, characterized by often weedy herbaceous plants and shrubs having simple, usually alternate leaves, small and inconspicuous flowers, and tiny, dry fruit, and including the beet, glasswort, goosefoot, Russian thistle, saltbush, and spinach; now part of the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae.