<B>fox snake,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large, harmless snake of the central United States, of a light-brown color with squarish dark-brown blotches. </DL>
<A NAME="foxsparrow">
<B>fox sparrow,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large, reddish sparrow found chiefly in wooded regions of Canada and the United States. </DL>
<A NAME="foxsquirrel">
<B>fox squirrel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a North American tree squirrel noted for its large size. </DL>
<A NAME="foxtail">
<B>foxtail, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the tail of a fox. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of various grasses with soft, brushlike spikes of flowers. </DL>
<A NAME="foxtaillily">
<B>foxtail lily,</B> =eremurus.</DL>
<A NAME="foxtailmillet">
<B>foxtail millet,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a grass native to Europe and Asia, grown in the United States for hay, pasture, and fodder. </DL>
<A NAME="foxtailpine">
<B>foxtail pine,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an evergreen tree or shrub with long, curving prickles on its cones; bristlecone pine. </DL>
<A NAME="foxterrier">
<B>fox terrier,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small, active dog kept as a pet, once trained to drive foxes from their holes. Fox terriers are white with brown or black spots and may have smooth or rough coats. </DL>
<A NAME="foxtrot">
<B>fox trot,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a ballroom dance in in time having both slow and quick steps. <DD><B> 2. </B>the music for it. <DD><B> 3. </B>a gait (of a horse or other four-footed animal) between a trot and a walk, made up of short steps. </DL>
<A NAME="foxtrot">
<B>fox-trot, </B>intransitive verb, <B>-trotted,</B> <B>-trotting.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to dance the fox trot. </DL>
<A NAME="foxtrot">
<B>Foxtrot, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a code name for the letter <I>f,</I> used in transmitting radio messages. </DL>
<A NAME="foxwood">
<B>foxwood, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> discolored or stained wood. </DL>
<A NAME="foxy">
<B>foxy, </B>adjective, <B>foxier,</B> <B>foxiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>like a fox; sly; crafty; cunning. <BR> <I>Ex. With his neat pointed beard (not quite a goatee) he looks a bit more like that traditional turn-of-the-century character, "foxy grandpa" (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>discolored; stained. <DD><B> 3. </B>yellowish or reddish brown, like the common red fox. <DD><B> 4. </B>(of beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverage) turned sour while fermenting. <DD><B> 5. </B>musky, like the fox grape. <BR> <I>Ex. European "connoisseurs" have coined a derogatory term--'foxy'--for the flavor of some American grape varieties (Maclean's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="foy">
<B>foy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Dialect.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a feast, present, cup of liquor, or other offering, given by or to a person starting out on a journey. <BR> <I>Ex. He did at the Dog give me, and some other friends of his, his foy, he being to set sail today (Samuel Pepys).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a feast at the end of the harvest or fishing season. </DL>
<A NAME="foyer">
<B>foyer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an entrance hall used as a lounging room in a theater, apartment house, or hotel; lobby. <DD><B> 2. </B>an entrance hall. </DL>
<B>fp</B> or <B>FP</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>foot-pound. <DD><B> 2. </B>freezing point. </DL>
<A NAME="fp">
<B>fp.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> foot-pound. </DL>
<A NAME="fpc">
<B>FPC</B> (no periods) or <B>F.P.C.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>Federal Power Commission (an agency that regulates natural gas and electric companies in interstate commerce and supervises Federal hydroelectric projects). <DD><B> 2. </B>fish protein concentrate. </DL>
<A NAME="fpm">
<B>fpm</B> (no periods) or <B>f.p.m.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> feet per minute. </DL>
<A NAME="fpo">
<B>FPO</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Navy.) Fleet Post Office. </DL>
<A NAME="fps">
<B>fps</B> (no periods) or <B>f.p.s.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>feet per second. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Physics.) foot-pound-second. </DL>
<B>Fra, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> Brother. It is used as the title of a monk or friar. </DL>
<A NAME="frabjous">
<B>frabjous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>very joyous or happy; fabulous. <BR> <I>Ex. a frabjous show, a frabjous comedian.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>very bad; outrageous; terrible. <BR> <I>Ex. a frabjous mistake.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fracas">
<B>fracas, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a noisy quarrel or fight; disorderly noise; disturbance; uproar; brawl. <BR> <I>Ex. We have only the Wheelers' word for it that the Wheelers were right in every fracas and ruction they got into (New Yorker).</I> (SYN) row, fray. </DL>
<A NAME="fractal">
<B>fractal, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a class of highly irregular and fragmented shapes or surfaces not represented in classical geometry. </DL>
<A NAME="fractalgeometry">
<B>fractal geometry,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the branch of geometry that deals with fractals. <BR> <I>Ex. The increasing popularity of fractal geometry ... stems from the vast diversity of physical problems that can be viewed as variations on a similar theme (Science News).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fracted">
<B>fracted, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Heraldry.) having a part displaced, as if broken. <BR> <I>Ex. a fracted chevron.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fraction">
<B>fraction, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>(Mathematics.) <DD><B> a. </B>one or more of the equal parts of a whole number: <I>2/3, 3/4, 5/6,</I> and <I>7/8</I> are fractions. <DD><B> b. </B>a division of one mathematical expression by another, indicated by a line with one quantity above it and another below it. <DD><B> c. </B>a similar expression in which the quantities are expressed in algebraic terms. <DD><B> 2. </B>a very small part or amount; not all of a thing; fragment. <BR> <I>Ex. He has done only a fraction of his homework.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Chemistry.) a portion separated especially by fractional distillation or precipitation, for collection. <DD><B> 4. </B>the act of breaking. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Obsolete.) a broken state or place. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to separate into fractions. <DD><B> 2. </B>to fractionate. </DL>
<A NAME="fractional">
<B>fractional, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with fractions. <DD><B> 2. </B>forming a fraction. <BR> <I>Ex. 440 yards is a fractional part of a mile.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>small by comparison; insignificant; partial. <BR> <I>Ex. Rent is only a fractional part of our household expense.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Chemistry.) of or designating a method for separating a mixture into its component parts, based on certain differences in boiling points, solubility, and other characteristics of these parts. <BR> <I>Ex. fractional crystallization.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(in stock exchanges) being less than the amount used as a standard unit of measurement, as less than 100 shares of stock, or $10,000 of bonds. adv. <B>fractionally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fractionalcurrency">
<B>fractional currency,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>coins or paper money having a value less than that of the basic monetary unit. <DD><B> 2. </B>certain paper money issued by the United States (1862-76), and Canada, in values of from three to fifty cents. </DL>
<A NAME="fractionaldistillation">
<B>fractional distillation,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) the separation of two or more volatile liquids having different boiling points, by heating them so as to vaporize them successively and collecting the more volatile first. </DL>
<A NAME="fractionalism">
<B>fractionalism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a tendency toward, or a policy of, division into parts or fractions. <BR> <I>Ex. No constitution can by itself eliminate political fractionalism and ensure a two or three party system (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fractionalize">
<B>fractionalize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to divide (an organization, system, or other structure) into parts or fractions. <BR> <I>Ex. Incident to these objectives is the attempt to fractionalize the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Southeast Asian defense organization (New York Times).</I> noun <B>fractionalization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fractionary">
<B>fractionary, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=fractional.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>having to do with or carried on by fractions; tending to divide into fractions. </DL>
<A NAME="fractionate">
<B>fractionate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ated,</B> <B>-ating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) <DD><B> 1. </B>to separate (a mixture) by distillation, crystallization, or other process, into its ingredients or into portions having different properties. <DD><B> 2. </B>to obtain by this process. noun <B>fractionation.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fractionator">
<B>fractionator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a machine which fractionates, such as one which separates whole blood into plasma, red cells, and other useful components. </DL>
<A NAME="fractionbar">
<B>fraction bar,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Mathematics.) the line separating a numerator and a denominator. </DL>
<A NAME="fractionize">
<B>fractionize, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to divide into fractions. noun <B>fractionization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fractious">
<B>fractious, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>easily made angry; cross; fretful; peevish. <BR> <I>Ex. in a fractious mood.</I> (SYN) irritable, snappish. <DD><B> 2. </B>hard to manage; unruly. <BR> <I>Ex. There were men ... struggling doubtfully with fractious cows and frightened sheep (Lew Wallace).</I> (SYN) refractory, intractable. adv. <B>fractiously.</B> noun <B>fractiousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fractocumulus">
<B>fracto-cumulus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-li.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a very low, ragged, slightly rounded cloud which often appears under nimbostratus clouds during precipitation. </DL>
<A NAME="fractography">
<B>fractography, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the study of the surface of fractured metals. </DL>
<A NAME="fractostratus">
<B>fracto-stratus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ti.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a very low, ragged, horizontally elongated cloud which often appears under nimbostratus clouds during precipitation. </DL>
