16-letter words containing r, u, l, e
- kangaroo closure — a form of closure in which the chair or speaker selects certain amendments for discussion and excludes others
- karelian isthmus — a narrow strip of land between Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland, in the NW Russian Federation.
- kekulé structure — the structure of many molecules, notably benzene, suggested by Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz (1829–96), the German chemist
- 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.
- 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)
- kidney corpuscle — Malpighian corpuscle.
- kirribilli house — the official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister
- krebs urea cycle — urea cycle.
- la rochefoucauld — François [frahn-swa] /frɑ̃ˈswa/ (Show IPA), 6th Duc de, 1613–80, French moralist and composer of epigrams and maxims.
- labour agreement — a contract between workers and managers setting out working conditions, wages, etc
- labour relations — Labour relations refers to the relationship between employers and employees in industry, and the political decisions and laws that affect it.
- labour-intensive — Labour-intensive industries or methods of making things involve a lot of workers. Compare capital-intensive.
- labrador current — a cold ocean current flowing southwards off the coast of Labrador and meeting the warm Gulf Stream, causing dense fogs off the coast of Newfoundland
- ladies auxiliary — an association whose members are usually the wives of members of an association with which it is affiliated.
- lady of pleasure — a prostitute.
- language barrier — difficulty in communication due to language difference
- lauderdale lakes — a city in SE Florida: suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
- laurel and hardy — a team of US film comedians, Stan Laurel, 1890–1965, born in Britain, the thin one, and his partner, Oliver Hardy, 1892–1957, the fat one
- laurentides park — a national park in SE Canada, in Quebec province between the St. Lawrence and Lake St. John.
- lean-burn engine — an engine designed to use a lean mixture of fuel and air in order to reduce petrol consumption and exhaust emissions
- legion of honour — an order for civil or military merit instituted by Napoleon in France in 1802
- leisure sickness — a medical condition in which people who have been working become ill with symptoms such as fatigue or muscular pains at a weekend or while on holiday
- lenticular cloud — a very smooth, round or oval, lens-shaped cloud that is often seen, singly or stacked in groups, near a mountain ridge.
- letter of marque — license or commission granted by a state to a private citizen to capture and confiscate the merchant ships of another nation.
- leveraged buyout — the purchase of a company with borrowed money, using the company's assets as collateral, and often discharging the debt and realizing a profit by liquidating the company. Abbreviation: LBO.
- liberal unionist — a Liberal who opposed Gladstone's policy of Irish Home Rule in 1886 and after
- library pictures — a caption used to alert viewers that footage being broadcast is from an earlier time and is not happening now
- lighting fixture — a lighting fixture is part of a light that is attached to the wall or ceiling where you put the light bulb or other lighting element, and which cannot be easily removed
- like gangbusters — a law-enforcement officer who specializes in breaking up organized crime, often by forceful or sensational means.
- lines per minute — (unit) (lpm) A unit used to measure line printer throughput.
- linux user group — (body, operating system) (LUG) Any organisation of Linux users in a local area, university, etc., that offers mutual technical support, companionship with people of similar interests and promotes the use of Linux among computer users generally. LUGs often hold Install Fests for the general public, in which experienced Linux users explain and supervise the installation of Linux on new users' systems.
- lissajous figure — the series of plane curves traced by an object executing two mutually perpendicular harmonic motions.
- lithium chloride — a white, water-soluble, deliquescent, crystalline solid, LiCl, used chiefly in the manufacture of mineral water, especially lithia water, and as a flux in metallurgy.
- lithium fluoride — a fine, white, slightly water-soluble powder, LiF, used chiefly in the manufacture of ceramics.
- lithium stearate — a white, crystalline, slightly water-soluble powder, LiC 18 H 35 O 2 , used chiefly in cosmetics, in plastics, and as a lubricant in powder metallurgy.
- liver of sulphur — a mixture of potassium sulphides used as a fungicide and insecticide and in the treatment of skin diseases
- lizard peninsula — a promontory in SW England, in SW Cornwall: the southernmost point in Great Britain
- loire-atlantique — a department in NW France. 2695 sq. mi. (6980 sq. km). Capital: Nantes.
- lose your memory — If you lose your memory, you forget things that you used to know.
- louise bourgeois — Léon Victor Auguste [ley-awn veek-tawr oh-gyst] /leɪˈɔ̃ vikˈtɔr oʊˈgyst/ (Show IPA), 1851–1925, French statesman: Nobel Peace Prize 1920.
- louisiana french — French as spoken in Louisiana; Cajun. Abbreviation: LaF.
- lourenco marques — former name of Maputo.
- lower lough erne — a lough in Northern Ireland, fed by the river Erne
- 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
- luncheon voucher — a voucher worth a specified amount issued to employees and redeemable at a restaurant for food
- maclaurin series — a Taylor series in which the reference point is zero.
- madame butterfly — an opera (1904) by Giacomo Puccini.
- mahalla el kubra — a city in Egypt, on the Nile delta.