15-letter words containing a, r, d, w
- the way forward — how to progress, what to do next
- thorndike's law — the principle that all learnt behaviour is regulated by rewards and punishments, proposed by Edward Lee Thorndike (1874–1949), US psychologist
- throw overboard — to reject or abandon
- to draw a blank — If you draw a blank when you are looking for someone or something, you do not succeed in finding them.
- tobacco budworm — the larva of a noctuid moth, Heliothis virescens, that damages the buds and young leaves of tobacco.
- transfer window — the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other teams into their own
- troubled waters — a confused or chaotic state of affairs: The situation was terrible, but like many politicians he was attracted by troubled waters.
- upward mobility — movement from one social level to a higher one (upward mobility) or a lower one (downward mobility) as by changing jobs or marrying.
- upwardly mobile — See under vertical mobility (def 1).
- völkerwanderung — the migration of peoples, esp of Germanic and Slavic peoples into S and W Europe from 2nd to 11th centuries
- w.h. richardson — Henry Handel (Henrietta Richardson Robertson) 1870–1946, Australian novelist.
- waddesdon manor — a mansion near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire: built (1880–89) in the French style for the Rothschild family: noted for its furnishings and collections of porcelain and paintings
- warmheartedness — The quality of being warmhearted.
- water-based mud — Water-based mud is a type of drilling mud consisting mainly of water, which has additives to modify it and make it more effective.
- waterfall model — (programming) A software life-cycle or product life-cycle model, described by W. W. Royce in 1970, in which development is supposed to proceed linearly through the phases of requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing (validation), integration and maintenance. The Waterfall Model is considered old-fashioned or simplistic by proponents of object-oriented design which often uses the spiral model instead. Earlier phases are sometimes called "upstream" and later ones "downstream". Compare: iterative model.
- waterford glass — fine cut or gilded glass made in Waterford, Ireland, having a slight blue cast due to the presence of cobalt.
- weatherboarding — an early type of board used as a siding for a building.
- wedding planner — sb hired to organize a marriage day
- weekend warrior — a reservist who attends weekend meetings of his or her unit in order to fulfill military obligations.
- well-accredited — officially recognized as meeting the essential requirements, as of academic excellence: accredited schools.
- well-advertised — to announce or praise (a product, service, etc.) in some public medium of communication in order to induce people to buy or use it: to advertise a new brand of toothpaste.
- well-elaborated — worked out with great care and nicety of detail; executed with great minuteness: elaborate preparations; elaborate care. Synonyms: perfected, painstaking. Antonyms: simple.
- well-formulated — to express in precise form; state definitely or systematically: He finds it extremely difficult to formulate his new theory.
- well-integrated — combining or coordinating separate elements so as to provide a harmonious, interrelated whole: an integrated plot; an integrated course of study.
- wheatgerm bread — bread made with wheat germ
- wheelchairbound — Confined to a wheelchair.
- whip-tailed ray — a whipray.
- wiener neustadt — a city in E Austria, in Lower Austria. Pop: 37 627 (2002)
- wild strawberry — uncultivated plant bearing red fruit
- wilderness area — a region whose natural growth is protected by legislation and whose recreational and industrial use is restricted.
- wilderness road — a 300-mile (500-km) route from eastern Virginia through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky, explored by Daniel Boone in 1769 and marked as a trail by him and other pioneers in 1775: a major route for early settlers moving west.
- windfall profit — a profit that arises thanks to an external event over which the person profiting had no control
- winter holidays — a period of rest from work or studies taken in winter
- with good grace — elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action: We watched her skate with effortless grace across the ice. Synonyms: attractiveness, charm, gracefulness, comeliness, ease, lissomeness, fluidity. Antonyms: stiffness, ugliness, awkwardness, clumsiness; klutziness.
- with one accord — If a number of people do something with one accord, they do it together or at the same time, because they agree about what should be done.
- withdrawal slip — a small paper form which has to be filled in before making a withdrawal of money from a bank, building society, etc
- working drawing — an accurately measured and detailed drawing of a structure, machine, etc., or of any part of one, used as a guide to workers in constructing it.
- working holiday — trip combining vacation with job experience
- world-wide wait — (humour) A pejorative expansion of WWW reflecting on the slowness of some network connections and sites.
- wraparound care — a childcare facility intended to help working parents, in which young children are looked after before and after school
- wreathed column — a column having a twisted or spiral form.
- wrongheadedness — The state of being wrongheaded.
- yellow lead ore — wulfenite.
- yellow mandarin — (in the Chinese Empire) a member of any of the nine ranks of public officials, each distinguished by a particular kind of button worn on the cap.