15-letter words starting with f
- flowerhorn fish — a brightly coloured cichlid fish with a large protuberance on the head
- flowering maple — any of various shrubs belonging to the genus Abutilon, of the mallow family, having large, bright-colored flowers.
- flowering plant — a plant that produces flowers, fruit, and seeds; angiosperm.
- flowering shrub — any shrub that produces flowers
- flowers of zinc — a white or yellowish-white, amorphous, odorless, water-insoluble powder, ZnO, used chiefly as a paint pigment, in cosmetics, dental cements, matches, white printing inks, and opaque glass, and in medicine in the treatment of skin conditions.
- fluid mechanics — an applied science dealing with the basic principles of gaseous and liquid matter.
- fluoridationist — One who supports the addition of fluoride to the public water supply.
- fluorine dating — a method of determining the relative age of fossil bones found in the same excavation by comparing their fluorine content.
- fluorochemicals — Plural form of fluorochemical.
- fluorophosphate — a salt or ester of a fluorophosphoric acid.
- fluoroquinolone — Any of a class of therapeutic antibiotics that are active against a range of bacteria associated with human and animal diseases. Their use in livestock has sparked concerns about the spread of bacteria resistant to them in humans.
- fly honeysuckle — either of two honeysuckle shrubs, Lonicera canadensis, of eastern North America, or L. xylosteum, of Eurasia, having paired yellowish flowers tinged with red.
- fly-on-the-wall — A fly-on-the-wall documentary is made by filming people as they do the things they normally do, rather than by interviewing them or asking them to talk directly to the camera.
- flying buttress — a segmental arch transmitting an outward and downward thrust to a solid buttress that through its inertia transforms the thrust into a vertical one.
- flying characin — hatchetfish (def 2).
- flying dutchman — a legendary Dutch ghost ship supposed to be seen at sea, especially near the Cape of Good Hope.
- 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 jib boom — an extension on a jib boom, to which a flying jib is fastened.
- 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.
- fob destination — FOB destination is a shipping term indicating that ownership of goods passes at delivery to their destination, and the seller has total responsibility until then.
- focal infection — an infection in which bacteria are localized in some region, as the tonsils or the tissue around a tooth, from which they may spread to some other organ or structure of the body.
- focusing screen — a camera in which the image appears on a ground-glass viewer (focusing screen) after being reflected by a mirror or after passing through a prism or semitransparent glass; in one type (single-lens reflex camera) light passes through the same lens to both the ground glass and the film, while in another type (twin-lens reflex camera) light passes through one lens (viewing lens) to the ground glass and through a second lens (taking lens) to the film, the lenses being mechanically coupled for focusing.
- follow-up study — a second study made as a follow-up to an initial study
- follow-up visit — a visit made as a follow-up to an initial visit
- food insecurity — an economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.
- food processing — transforming raw materials into food
- food supplement — a substance designed to make up for a deficiency in one's diet
- food technology — a branch of technology that is involved in the production of food
- fool's paradise — a state of enjoyment based on false beliefs or hopes; a state of illusory happiness.
- foolscap octavo — a book size, 41⁄4 by 63⁄4 inches
- 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 league — highest-level soccer competition
- football player — sportsperson: plays football
- football season — annual period when soccer is played
- for a certainty — without doubt
- for a rainy day — If you say that you are saving something, especially money, for a rainy day, you mean that you are saving it until a time in the future when you might need it.
- 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 one's money — any circulating medium of exchange, including coins, paper money, and demand deposits.
- for pity's sake — You can say for pity's sake to add emphasis to what you are saying, especially when you are annoyed or upset.
- for some reason — for an unknown reason
- for that matter — the substance or substances of which any physical object consists or is composed: the matter of which the earth is made.
- for the love of — a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
- for the present — being, existing, or occurring at this time or now; current: increasing respect for the present ruler of the small country.
- for the sake of — for the good of
- for their pains — You say that something was all you got for your pains when you are mentioning the disappointing result of situation into which you put a lot of work or effort.
- forbidden fruit — the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, tasted by Adam and Eve against God's prohibition. Gen. 2:17; 3:3.
- force de frappe — a military strike force, esp the independent nuclear strike force of France
- force the issue — to compel decision on some matter
- fore-topgallant — being a sail, yard, or rigging belonging to a fore-topgallant mast.