16-letter words containing r, s, a
- for good measure — a unit or standard of measurement: weights and measures.
- for pete's sake! — an expression of frustration, exasperation or annoyance
- forbid the banns — to raise an objection to a marriage announced in this way
- forbush decrease — the sudden decrease in the intensity of cosmic rays after an increase in solar activity.
- force one's hand — the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb.
- forefathers' day — the anniversary of the day (December 21, 1620, in Old Style December 11) on which the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Mass. Owing to an error in changing the date from the Old Style to the New, it is generally observed on December 22.
- forswear oneself — to swear falsely; perjure oneself
- fort sam houston — a military reservation and U.S. Army training center in San Antonio, Tex.
- forward analysis — An analysis which determines properties of the output of a program from properties of the inputs.
- founders' shares — shares awarded to the founders of a company and often granting special privileges
- four-course meal — A four-course meal is a meal that consists of four parts served one after the other.
- 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).
- four-star petrol — petrol containing lead, formerly sold in the UK
- 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.
- fraises des bois — wild strawberries
- francesco sforza — Count Carlo [kahr-law] /ˈkɑr lɔ/ (Show IPA), 1873–1952, Italian statesman: anti-Fascist leader.
- franchise clause — a clause stipulating that the insured will be responsible for any loss not in excess of a stated amount, and the insurance company will be liable for full payment of the loss equaling or exceeding the amount up to the insured amount.
- 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.
- frankfurt school — a school of thought, founded at the University of Frankfurt in 1923 by Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse and others, derived from Marxist, Freudian, and Hegelian theory
- franz josef land — an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, E of Spitzbergen and N of Novaya Zemlya: belongs to the Russian Federation.
- 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
- frederic mistral — Frédéric [frey-dey-reek] /freɪ deɪˈrik/ (Show IPA), 1830–1914, French Provençal poet: Nobel prize 1904.
- 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 cameroons — Cameroun (def 2).
- 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.
- freshwater pearl — any of the small pearls produced especially by freshwater mussels.
- friendly islands — Tonga
- from one's heart — very sincerely or deeply
- ft share indexes — any of a number of share indexes published by the Financial Times to reflect various aspects of stock exchange prices
- fund supermarket — an online facility offering discounted investment opportunities and advice
- fundamental star — one of a number of stars with positions that have been determined accurately and that are used as reference stars for the determination of positions of other celestial objects.
- funeral expenses — Funeral expenses are the costs of organizing and carrying out a funeral.
- gadsden purchase — a tract of 45,535 sq. mi. (117,935 sq. km), now contained in New Mexico and Arizona, purchased for $10,000,000 from Mexico in 1853, the treaty being negotiated by James Gadsden.
- galactic cluster — a comparatively young, irregularly shaped group of stars, often numbering up to several hundred, and held together by mutual gravitation; usually found along the central plane of the Milky Way and other galaxies.
- gallium arsenide — a crystalline and highly toxic semiconductor, GaAs, used in light-emitting diodes, lasers, and electronic devices.
- garbage disposal — A garbage disposal or a garbage disposal unit is a small machine in the kitchen sink that breaks down waste matter so that it does not block the sink.
- garfield heights — a city in NE Ohio, near Cleveland.
- garlic mushrooms — mushrooms, often pan-fried, cooked with garlic
- garment district — an area in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City, including portions of Seventh Avenue and Broadway between 34th and 40th Streets and the streets intersecting them, that contains many factories, showrooms, etc., related to the design, manufacture, and wholesale distribution of clothing.
- gasoline-powered — using gasoline as fuel
- gastro-resistant — A gastro-resistant tablet is designed to temporarily withstand attack by stomach acid.
- gastroenterology — the study of the structure, functions, and diseases of digestive organs.
- gastroesophageal — Of or relating to the stomach and to the esophagus.
- gastrointestinal — of, relating to, or affecting the stomach and intestines.