18-letter words containing s, f, e, r
- soda-lime feldspar — plagioclase.
- software backplane — (programming, tool) A CASE framework from Atherton.
- soldier of fortune — a person who independently seeks pleasure, wealth, etc., through adventurous exploits.
- sonic depth finder — a sonar instrument that uses echolocation to measure depths under water.
- sound and the fury — a novel (1929) by William Faulkner.
- speak for yourself — If you say 'Speak for yourself' when someone has said something, you mean that what they have said is only their opinion or applies only to them.
- specrate_base_fp92 — (benchmark) A variant of SPECrate_fp92 that reports "baseline" results, using stricter run rules.
- spectrofluorimeter — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
- spectrofluorometer — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
- spotted flycatcher — a European woodland songbird, Muscicapa striata, with a greyish-brown streaked plumage: family Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers)
- spur-of-the-moment — occurring or done without advance preparation or deliberation; extemporaneous; unplanned: a spur-of-the-moment decision.
- squinting modifier — a word or phrase that can modify either the words that precede it or those that follow, as frequently in the sentence Studying frequently is tedious.
- state of emergency — If a government or other authority declares a state of emergency in an area, it introduces special measures such as increased powers for the police or army, usually because of civil disorder or because of a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
- strait of magellan — a strait between the mainland of S South America and Tierra del Fuego, linking the S Pacific with the S Atlantic. Length: 600 km (370 miles). Width: up to 32 km (20 miles)
- street certificate — a certificate showing ownership of a specified number of shares of stock: endorsed by the owner and guaranteed by a broker, it may be traded without formal transfer on the books of the corporation issuing the stock.
- subsistence farmer — a farmer who consumes most of the produce he grows, leaving little or nothing to be marketed
- sulfuric anhydride — sulfur trioxide.
- sunflower seed oil — the oil extracted from sunflower seeds, used as a salad oil, in the manufacture of margarine, etc
- surface-to-surface — (of a missile, message, etc.) capable of traveling from a base on the surface of the earth to a target also on the surface.
- sweptwing aircraft — an aircraft which has wings that are swept (usually) backwards
- symmetric function — a polynomial in several indeterminates that stays the same under any permutation of the indeterminates.
- take the wraps off — to reveal
- terms of reference — Terms of reference are the instructions given to someone when they are asked to consider or investigate a particular subject, telling them what they must deal with and what they can ignore.
- the bird has flown — the person in question has fled or escaped
- the first sea lord — the senior of the two serving naval officers who sits on the admiralty board of the Ministry of Defence
- the mosque of omar — the mosque in Jerusalem, Israel, built in 691 ad by caliph 'Abd al-Malik: the third most holy place of Islam; stands on the Temple Mount alongside the al-Aqsa mosque
- the worse for wear — If you say that someone is the worse for wear, you mean that they are tired, ill, or in a bad state because they have been very active, been through a difficult experience, or been drinking alcohol.
- thorfinn karlsefni — 980–after 1007, Icelandic navigator, explorer, and leader of early colonizing expedition to Vinland, in North America.
- throw oneself into — to propel or cast in any way, especially to project or propel from the hand by a sudden forward motion or straightening of the arm and wrist: to throw a ball.
- to be said for sth — If you say there is a lot to be said for something, you mean you think it has a lot of good qualities or aspects.
- to feast your eyes — If you feast your eyes on something, you look at it for a long time with great attention because you find it very attractive.
- to play favourites — to display favouritism
- torsion-free group — a group in which every element other than the identity has infinite order.
- transfer passenger — a traveller who changes from one plane, train, or bus to another, or to another form of transport
- transfinite number — an infinite cardinal or ordinal number.
- transrectification — rectification occurring in one circuit as a result of the application of an alternating voltage to another circuit.
- treasury of merits — the superabundant store of merits and satisfactions, comprising those of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.
- treaty of rijswijk — a treaty signed at Rijswijk in the Netherlands in 1697, ending the War of the Grand Alliance
- triangle of forces — a triangle whose sides represent the magnitudes and directions of three forces whose resultant is zero and which are therefore in equilibrium
- tufted loosestrife — a primulaceous plant Naumburgia thyrsiflora
- tune someone grief — to annoy or harass someone
- turn in on oneself — to withdraw or cause to withdraw from contact with others and become preoccupied with one's own problems
- under the aegis of — guided or protected by
- universal suffrage — suffrage for all persons over a certain age, usually 18 or 21, who in other respects satisfy the requirements established by law.
- university faculty — a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas
- ur of the chaldees — the city where Abraham was born, sometimes identified with the Sumerian city of Ur. Gen. 11:28, 31; 15:7; Neh. 9:7.
- uriniferous tubule — a urine-bearing tubule in a nephron of a kidney.
- vermilion rockfish — a scarlet-red rockfish, Sebastes miniatus, inhabiting waters along the Pacific coast of North America, important as a food fish.
- visiting professor — a professor from another institution invited to teach at a university or college for a limited period, usually for a semester or one academic year.
- warrant of fitness — a six-monthly certificate required for motor vehicles certifying mechanical soundness