15-letter words containing r, a, f, i
- medal for merit — a medal awarded by the U.S. to a civilian for distinguished service to the country: discontinued after World War II.
- medical officer — a doctor of medicine who serves in the armed forces in a medical capacity
- metainformation — metadata
- mezzanine floor — intermediate level in a building
- michael faraday — Michael, 1791–1867, English physicist and chemist: discoverer of electromagnetic induction.
- microfiltration — Filtration through a microporous membrane.
- micromicrofarad — picofarad. Symbol: μμF.
- microsoft basic — (language) (MS-BASIC) A dialect of BASIC from Microsoft, originally developed by Bill Gates in a garage back in the CP/M days. It was originally known as GWBasic, then QBASIC and finally MS-BASIC. When the MS-DOS operating system came out, it incorporated the GWBASIC.EXE or BASICA.EXE interpreters. GWBASIC ("Gee Whiz") incorporated graphics and a screen editor and was compatible with earlier BASICs. QBASIC was more sophisticated. Version 4.5 had a full screen editor, debugger and compiler. The compiler could also produce executable files but to run these a utility program (BRUN44.EXE) had to be present. Thus source code could be kept private. From DOS 5.0 or 6.0 onward, MS-BASIC was standard. Version 1.1 produced stand-alone executables and could display graphics.
- mis-informative — to give false or misleading information to.
- moccasin flower — the lady's-slipper.
- molecular knife — a segment of genetic material that inhibits the reproduction of the AIDS virus by breaking up specific areas of the virus's genes.
- moreton bay fig — a large Australian fig tree, Ficus macrophylla, having glossy leaves and smooth bark
- mortgage relief — (formerly) a reduction of tax on income being used to pay off a mortgage
- mulberry family — the plant family Moraceae, characterized by deciduous or evergreen trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants having simple, alternate leaves, often milky sap, dense clusters of small flowers, and fruit in the form of a fleshy berry, usually hollow in the center, and including the fig, mulberry, Osage orange, and rubber plant.
- multiflora rose — a climbing or trailing rose, Rosa multiflora, of Japan and Korea, having hooked prickles and fragrant, dense clusters of flowers.
- multiple factor — polygene.
- myofibroblastic — Relating to myofibroblasts.
- nanofabrication — the design and manufacture of products and structures, especially electronic devices, with dimensions measured in nanometers.
- narcotrafficker — One who traffics in illegal narcotics.
- national forest — forested land owned, maintained, and preserved by the U.S. government.
- negative profit — a financial loss
- neurofibrillary — Of or pertaining to a neurofibril.
- node of ranvier — a gap occurring at regular intervals between segments of myelin sheath along a nerve axon.
- non-informative — giving information; instructive: an informative book.
- non-rectifiable — able to be rectified.
- noncertificated — not possessing a certificate, not certified
- nonfermentative — tending to produce or undergo fermentation.
- noninflammatory — Not accompanied by or associated with inflammation.
- noninflationary — Not inflationary; not likely to cause economic inflation.
- nonprofessional — not a member of or trained in a specific profession.
- nonprofessorial — not professorial
- nuclear fission — fission (def 2).
- officer of arms — an officer with the duties of a herald, especially one charged with the devising, granting, or confirming of armorial bearings.
- official strike — a collective stoppage of work by part or all of the workforce of an organization with the approval of the trade union concerned. The stoppage may be accompanied by the payment of strike pay by the trade union concerned
- oil of lavender — an essential oil distilled from lavender flowers, especially Lavandula angustifolia and L. stoechas, and used in perfumery.
- old father time — time personified
- on the trail of — If you are on the trail of a person or thing, you are trying hard to find them or find out about them.
- organic farming — farming with organic methods
- origination fee — a fee charged by a lender for evaluating and processing a loan application, usually a percentage of the face value of the loan.
- out of practice — If you are out of practice at doing something, you have not had much experience of it recently, although you used to do it a lot or be quite good at it.
- out of thin air — suddenly and unexpectedly
- out of training — become unfit
- outside forward — one of two attacking players who usually play on the far side of the field; wing.
- overdraft limit — a limit on the amount of money allowed to be withdrawn in excess of the credit balance of a bank or building society account
- overfamiliarity — The state of being overfamiliar.
- oyster toadfish — See under toadfish (def 1).
- pacific madrone — any of several evergreen trees belonging to the genus Arbutus, of the heath family, especially A. menziesii (Pacific madrone) of western North America, having red, flaky bark and bearing edible reddish berries.
- paradise flower — a prickly vine, Solanum wendlandii, of the nightshade family, native to Costa Rica, having branched clusters of showy lilac-blue flowers.
- paraffin heater — a heater which is fuelled by paraffin
- paraffin series — methane series