16-letter words containing t, r, n, a
- extension ladder — a ladder that can be made longer by pulling out an extra section
- external affairs — (formerly) the Canadian federal Foreign Affairs department
- external auditor — sb brought in to check financial records
- external storage — storage, as on disk or tape, supplemental to and slower than main storage, not under the direct control of the CPU and generally contained outside it: Secondary storage for this system is contained on videodisk.
- external student — a student studying a university subject extramurally
- extradimensional — (jargon, science fiction) Originating outside the known physical reality of the universe.
- extrinsic factor — vitamin B12
- face recognition — the ability of a computer to scan, store, and recognize human faces for use in identifying people
- fahrenheit scale — Gabriel Daniel [German gah-bree-el dah-nee-el] /German ˈgɑ briˌɛl ˈdɑ niˌɛl/ (Show IPA), 1686–1736, German physicist: devised a temperature scale and introduced the use of mercury in thermometers.
- faintheartedness — The quality or state of being fainthearted.
- fair to middling — free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice: a fair decision; a fair judge.
- farmington hills — a city in SE Michigan.
- fashion industry — the industry that deals with the world of fashion
- father confessor — confessor (def 2).
- feather geranium — a Eurasian weed, Chenopodium botrys, of the amaranth family, having clusters of inconspicuous flowers and unpleasant smelling, lobed leaves.
- feather merchant — a person who avoids responsibility and effort; loafer.
- federation wheat — an early-maturing drought-resistant variety of wheat developed by William Farrar in 1902
- feedback control — (electronics) A control system which monitors its effect on the system it is controlling and modifies its output accordingly. For example, a thermostat has two inputs: the desired temperature and the current temperature (the latter is the feedback). The output of the thermostat changes so as to try to equalise the two inputs. Computer disk drives use feedback control to position the read/write heads accurately on a recording track. Complex systems such as the human body contain many feedback systems that interact with each other; the homeostasis mechanisms that control body temperature and acidity are good examples.
- feel constrained — If you feel constrained to do something, you feel that you must do it, even though you would prefer not to.
- feeping creature — [feeping creaturism] An unnecessary feature; a bit of chrome that, in the speaker's judgment, is the camel's nose for a whole horde of new features.
- feira de santana — a city in BahÍa state, E Brazil.
- feulgen reaction — a reaction in which an aldehyde combines with a modified Schiff's reagent to produce a purplish compound: used especially to test for the presence of DNA
- fifth-generation — denoting developments in computer design to produce machines with artificial intelligence
- finance director — financial manager
- finance minister — a member of a government in charge of the financial affairs of a state etc
- find favour with — to be approved of by someone
- fingertip search — When the police carry out a fingertip search of a place, they examine it for evidence in a very detailed way.
- fire regulations — rules intended to make sure that people and property stay safe in the event of a fire
- first balkan war — Balkan War (def 1).
- first generation — 1. (architecture) first generation computer. 2. (language) first generation language.
- first lieutenant — an officer ranking next above second lieutenant and next below a captain.
- first-generation — being the first generation of a family to be born in a particular country.
- fisherman's knot — a knot for joining two ropes of equal thickness consisting of an overhand knot or double overhand knot by each rope round the other, so that the two knots jam when pulled tight
- flabbergastation — (colloquial) Bewildered shock or surprise; the state or condition of being flabbergasted.
- flabbergastingly — Surprisingly, astonishingly or amazingly.
- flash eliminator — a device fitted to the muzzle of a firearm to reduce the flash made by the ignited propellant gases
- flat-bed scanner — a type of optical scanner having a flat, stationary surface on which a page is scanned by a moving head.
- flight formation — an arrangement of two or more airplanes flying together in a group, usually in a predetermined pattern.
- flight indicator — artificial horizon (def 3).
- floridean starch — the storage polysaccharide of red algae.
- flotation collar — an inflatable device worn around the neck to keep the wearer afloat when in danger of drowning
- fluorescent lamp — a tubular electric discharge lamp in which light is produced by the fluorescence of phosphors coating the inside of the tube.
- food intolerance — an intolerance of a specific type of food, causing an adverse reaction
- food irradiation — the exposure of food to electromagnetic radiation to kill bacteria and retard deterioration
- fool around with — have casual sex
- for a/one minute — If you say that you do not believe for a minute or for one minute that something is true, you are emphasizing that you do not believe that it is true.
- for a/one moment — If you say that you do not believe for a moment or for one moment that something is true, you are emphasizing that you do not believe that it could possibly be true.
- for external use — If medicine is for external use, it is intended to be used only on the outside of your body, and not to be eaten or drunk.
- for the duration — If you say that something will happen for the duration, you mean that it will happen for as long as a particular situation continues.
- for the meantime — For the meantime means for a period of time from now until something else happens.