16-letter words containing r, a, k
- inter-packet gap — (networking) A time delay between successive data packets mandated by the network standard for protocol reasons. In Ethernet, the medium has to be "silent" (i.e., no data transfer) for a few microseconds before a node can consider the network idle and start to transmit. This is necessary for fairness reasons. The delay time, which approximately equals the signal propagation time on the cable, allows the "silence" to reach the far end so that all nodes consider the net idle.
- j. random hacker — (jargon) /J rand'm hak'r/ MIT jargon for a mythical figure; the archetypal hacker nerd. This may originally have been inspired by "J. Fred Muggs", a show-biz chimpanzee whose name was a household word back in the early days of TMRC, and was probably influenced by J. Presper Eckert (one of the co-inventors of the electronic computer). See random, Suzie COBOL.
- journeyman baker — a baker who is qualified to work in the employment of another
- kamerlingh onnes — Heike [hahy-kuh] /ˈhaɪ kə/ (Show IPA), 1853–1926, Dutch physicist: Nobel Prize 1913.
- 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
- kaposi's sarcoma — a form of skin cancer found in Africans and more recently in victims of AIDS
- karadeniz bogazi — Bosporus
- karelian isthmus — a narrow strip of land between Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland, in the NW Russian Federation.
- karyokinetically — In a karyokinetic manner; by means of karyokinesis.
- keep on a string — to have control or a hold over (someone), esp emotionally
- keep under wraps — not reveal
- kekule's formula — the structural formula of benzene represented as a hexagonal ring with alternate single and double bonds between the carbon atoms.
- kentucky warbler — a wood warbler, Oporornis formosus, of the U.S., olive-green above, yellow below, and marked with black on the face.
- keratoacanthomas — Plural form of keratoacanthoma.
- key note speaker — a person who delivers a keynote address.
- keyman insurance — life insurance taken out by a business firm on an essential or very important employee, with the firm as beneficiary.
- keynote software — A company which offers software-based business contact directories for people who develop, manufacture, market, or distribute software or multimedia products. E-mail: <[email protected]> (Subject: SEND INDEX).
- 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)
- killer satellite — an orbiting satellite that can be maneuvered to approach a target satellite and destroy it by exploding
- kilogram calorie — kilocalorie.
- kingdom of arles — a kingdom in SE France which had dissolved by 1378: known as the Kingdom of Burgundy until about 1200
- kingfisher daisy — a bushy southern African plant, Felicia bergerana, having grasslike leaves and solitary, bright-blue flowers.
- kipp's apparatus — a laboratory apparatus for producing a gas, usually hydrogen sulphide, by the action of a liquid on a solid without heating
- kirchhoff's laws — the law that the algebraic sum of the currents flowing toward any point in an electric network is zero.
- kitagawa utamaro — Kitagawa [kee-tah-gah-wah] /ˈki tɑˈgɑ wɑ/ (Show IPA), 1753–1806, Japanese painter, draftsman, and designer of prints.
- 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.
- knights of labor — a secret workingmen's organization formed in 1869 to defend the interests of labor.
- knitting pattern — a pattern that tells you how to knit a garment or another object
- knock for a loop — a portion of a cord, ribbon, etc., folded or doubled upon itself so as to leave an opening between the parts.
- kondratieff wave — a long business cycle of economic expansion and contraction, postulated to last about 60 years.
- krebs urea cycle — urea cycle.
- kurdaitcha shoes — (in certain Central Australian Aboriginal tribes) the emu-feather shoes worn by the kurdaitcha on his mission so that his footsteps may not be traced
- 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)
- lakeland terrier — one of a breed of small, slender terriers, raised originally in northwestern England for hunting foxes.
- large-print book — a book where the text is printed in larger text than normal, so as to make it easier to read, esp for the visually impaired
- lateral thinking — unconventional or creative problem-solving
- 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.
- leap in the dark — to spring through the air from one point or position to another; jump: to leap over a ditch.
- 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.
- like gangbusters — a law-enforcement officer who specializes in breaking up organized crime, often by forceful or sensational means.
- luck of the draw — the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I'll probably get pneumonia.
- lumberjack shirt — a thick checked shirt, as worn by lumberjacks
- mahalla el kubra — a city in Egypt, on the Nile delta.
- maid of all work — a maid who does all types of housework
- make a break for — run towards
- make a pitch for — to give verbal support to
- make a virtue of — If you make a virtue of something, you pretend that you did it because you chose to, although in fact you did it because you had to.