16-letter words containing r, d, a
- lonely hearts ad — an advertisement placed by someone who is trying to find a lover or a friend
- lord chamberlain — (in Britain) the chief official of the royal household
- lord howe island — an island in the S Pacific, E of Australia: a dependency of New South Wales. 5 sq. mi. (13 sq. km).
- lord proprietary — (in Colonial America) an owner, governor, or grantee of a proprietary colony
- lords-and-ladies — (used with a singular verb) cuckoopint.
- 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.
- machine readable — of or relating to data encoded on an appropriate medium and in a form suitable for processing by computer.
- machine-readable — of or relating to data encoded on an appropriate medium and in a form suitable for processing by computer.
- macrolepidoptera — a collector's name for that part of the lepidoptera that comprises the butterflies and the larger moths (noctuids, geometrids, bombycids, springtails, etc): a term without taxonomic significance
- madame butterfly — an opera (1904) by Giacomo Puccini.
- maid of all work — a maid who does all types of housework
- mail-order house — a retail firm that conducts its business by receiving orders and shipping its merchandise through the mail and that supplies its customers with catalogs, circulars, etc.
- mainland britain — England, Wales, and Scotland excluding those adjacent islands governed from the mainland
- mainstream media — newspapers, magazines, television, and radio, as opposed to social media
- maitre de ballet — ballet master.
- majority verdict — a decision supported by more than half, but not all, the jury
- maleic anhydride — a colorless crystalline, unsaturated compound, C 4 H 2 O 3 , that is soluble in acetone and hydrolyzes in water: used in the production of polyester resins, pesticides, and fumaric and tartaric acids.
- maleic hydrazide — a crystalline compound, C 4 N 2 H 4 O 2 , used as a plant growth inhibitor and weed-killer.
- man and superman — a comedy (1903) by G. B. Shaw.
- man of few words — man who speaks very little
- man of the world — a man who is widely experienced in the ways of the world and people; an urbane, sophisticated man.
- managed currency — a currency whose value is established and maintained by deliberate governmental action working through national and international financial institutions, in contrast to the quasi-automatic gold standard.
- mandarin chinese — the official language of China since 1917; the form of Chinese spoken by about two thirds of the population and taught in schools throughout China
- manhood suffrage — the right of adult male citizens to vote
- manic depression — bipolar disorder.
- manic-depressive — suffering from bipolar disorder.
- manufactured gas — a gaseous fuel created from coal, oil, etc., as differentiated from natural gas.
- maremma sheepdog — a large strongly-built sheepdog of a breed with a long, slightly wavy, white coat
- margaret drabble — Margaret, born 1939, English novelist.
- maria de' medici — French name Marie de Médicis. 1573–1642, queen of France (1600–10) by marriage to Henry IV of France; daughter of Francesco, grand duke of Tuscany. She became regent for her son (later Louis XIII) but continued to wield power after he came of age (1614). She was finally exiled from France in 1631 after plotting to undermine Richelieu's influence at court
- marie de medicis — 1573–1642, queen of Henry IV of France: regent 1610–17.
- maritime command — the naval branch of the Canadian armed forces
- market gardening — Chiefly British. truck farm.
- marmalade orange — a bitter variety of orange suitable for making marmalade
- married quarters — the housing provided on a military base for married servicemen or servicewomen
- marshall islands — a republic, consisting of a group of 34 coral islands in the W central Pacific: formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (1947–87); status of free association with the US from 1986; consists of two parallel chains, Ralik and Ratak. Official languages: Marshallese and English. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: US dollar. Capital: Delap-Uliga-Djarrit, on Majuro atoll. Pop: 69 747 (2013 est). Area: (land) 181 sq km (70 sq miles); (lagoon) 11 655 sq km (4500 sq miles)
- marshalling yard — a place or depot where railway wagons are shunted and made up into trains and where engines, carriages, etc, are kept when not in use
- mass destruction — devastation on a large scale
- matter of record — a fact or statement that appears on the record of a court and that can be proved or established by producing such record.
- matthew flinders — Matthew, 1774–1814, English navigator and explorer: surveyed coast of Australia.
- measured daywork — a system of wage payment, usually determined by work-study techniques, whereby the wage of an employee is fixed on the understanding that a specific level of work performance will be maintained
- measuring device — gauge
- medal of bravery — a Canadian award for courage
- medal of freedom — a former name of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- media atropatene — an ancient region in NW Iran, formerly a part of Media.
- medical examiner — a physician or other person trained in medicine who is appointed by a city, county, or the like, to perform autopsies on the bodies of persons supposed to have died from unnatural causes and to investigate the cause and circumstances of such deaths.
- medieval cornish — the Cornish language of the Middle Ages, usually dated from the 14th century to 1600.
- medieval history — the branch of history dealing with the Middle Ages
- medium artillery — guns and howitzers of more than 105mm and less than 155mm caliber, sometimes including the 155mm howitzers. Compare heavy artillery (def 2), light artillery (def 2).
- medullary sheath — Botany. a narrow zone made up of the innermost layer of woody tissue immediately surrounding the pith in plants.