15-letter words containing r, l, f
- flying characin — hatchetfish (def 2).
- flying fortress — a heavy bomber, the B-17, with four radial piston engines, widely used over Europe and the Mediterranean by the U.S. Air Force in World War II.
- flying squirrel — any of various nocturnal tree squirrels, as Glaucomys volans, of the eastern U.S., having folds of skin connecting the fore and hind legs, permitting long, gliding leaps.
- fool's paradise — a state of enjoyment based on false beliefs or hopes; a state of illusory happiness.
- foolscap quarto — a book size, 63⁄4 by 81⁄2 inches (foolscap quarto)
- football ground — an area of land where football games are played
- football player — sportsperson: plays football
- for good or ill — If you say that something is happening or will happen for good or ill, you mean that it is out of anyone's control whether it happens and what its effects will be.
- for the love of — a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
- fore-topgallant — being a sail, yard, or rigging belonging to a fore-topgallant mast.
- forecastle deck — a partial weather deck on top of a forecastle superstructure; topgallant forecastle.
- forecastle head — the extreme fore part of a forecastle superstructure.
- forehand volley — a type of forehand shot played in tennis
- fork-lift truck — Also called forklift truck, fork truck. a small vehicle with two power-operated prongs at the front that can be slid under heavy loads and then raised for moving and stacking materials in warehouses, shipping depots, etc.
- formal argument — (programming) (Or "parameter") A name in a function or subroutine definition that is replaced by, or bound to, the corresponding actual argument when the function or subroutine is called. In many languages formal arguments behave like local variables which get initialised on entry. See: argument.
- formal calculus — an uninterpreted symbolic system whose syntax is precisely defined, and on which a relation of deducibility is defined in purely syntactic terms; a logistic system
- formal language — correct or polite words and phrases
- formation fluid — Formation fluid is fluid in the pores (=tiny holes) of a rock.
- formation rules — the set of rules that specify the syntax of a formal system; the algorithm that generates the well-formed formulae
- formularization — The act of formularizing; a formularized or formulated statement or exhibition.
- fort lauderdale — a city in SE Florida: seashore resort.
- forward echelon — (in a military operation) the troops and officers in a combat zone or in a position to engage the enemy.
- forward-looking — planning for or anticipating possible future events, conditions, etc.; progressive.
- four-ball match — a match, scored by holes, between two pairs of players, in which the four players tee off and the partners alternate in hitting the pair's ball having the better lie off the tee.
- fourth official — In football, the fourth official is an official who assists the referee and assistant referees from the side of the pitch.
- fourth republic — the republic established in France in 1945 and replaced by the Fifth Republic in 1958.
- fovea centralis — a small pit or depression at the back of the retina forming the point of sharpest vision.
- fractional note — a banknote in a denomination smaller than the standard unit of currency
- fractionalizing — Present participle of fractionalize.
- franklin pierce — Franklin, 1804–69, 14th president of the U.S. 1853–57.
- franklin square — a town on W Long Island, in SE New York.
- franklin's gull — a black-headed North American gull, Larus pipixcan, feeding chiefly on insects.
- fraternal order — men's organization
- fraternal twins — one of a pair of twins, not necessarily resembling each other, or of the same sex, that develop from two separately fertilized ova.
- free soil party — a former U.S. political party (1848–56) that opposed the extension of slavery in the Territories not yet admitted to statehood.
- free throw lane — the rectangular area, 19 feet (5.7 meters) long and usually 12 or 16 feet (3.6 m or 4.8 meters) wide, extending from the end line behind each backboard to the foul line and along the sides of which players line up during a foul shot.
- free throw line — foul line (def 2).
- free-tailed bat — any of various small, swift, insect-eating bats of the family Molossidae, common in warm climates, having thick, leathery ears and a tail that projects well beyond the tail membrane.
- french marigold — a composite plant, Tagetes patula, of Mexico, having yellow flowers with red markings.
- french mulberry — a shrub, Callicarpa americana, of the verbena family, of the south-central U.S. and the West Indies, having violet-colored fruit and bluish flowers.
- french togoland — a former United Nations Trust Territory in W Africa, administered by France (1946–60), now the independent republic of Togo
- fresnel biprism — biprism.
- fresnel mirrors — two plane mirrors so linked that a beam of light falling on them is reflected in slightly different directions, thus producing interference fringes in the area where this reflected light overlaps
- friar's lantern — ignis fatuus (def 1).
- friction clutch — a clutch in which one part turns another by friction between them.
- friedmann model — any model of the universe deduced from a homogeneous, isotropic solution of Einstein's field equations without a cosmological constant. Such models form the mathematical basis for many modern cosmologies and provide for expansion or contraction of the universe.
- fringe festival — an unofficial, often unconventional, arts festival that is associated with another, larger festival
- frisian islands — a chain of islands in the North Sea along the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark: separated from the mainland by shallows
- frontal cyclone — any extratropical cyclone associated with a front: the most common cyclonic storm.
- frozen shoulder — joint stiffness at top of arm