16-letter words containing a, w, r, y
- royal water lily — a water lily, Victoria amazonica (or V. regia), of the Amazon River and British Guiana, having floating leaves from three to six feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters) wide, the upturned margins from two to four inches (5 to 10 cm) high, and dull crimson flowers.
- secondary growth — an increase in the thickness of the shoots and roots of a vascular plant as a result of the formation of new cells in the cambium.
- seven years' war — the war (1756–63) in which England and Prussia defeated France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony.
- showy crab apple — a large Japanese bush or tree, Malus floribunda, of the rose family, having red fruit and rose-colored flowers that fade to white.
- software library — a collection of programs that are used to develop software
- sooty shearwater — any of several long-winged seabirds, often used as food, especially Puffinus tenuirostris (short-tailed shearwater) of Australia and Puffinus griseus (sooty shearwater) which breeds in the Southern Hemisphere and winters in the Northern Hemisphere.
- starry grasswort — a weedy plant, Cerastium arvense, of the pink family, native to the North Temperate Zone, having narrow leaves and white flowers.
- straight whiskey — pure, unblended whiskey of 80 to 110 proof.
- strawberry blite — a plant, Chenopodium capitatum, having dense, rounded clusters of minute reddish flowers.
- strawberry blond — reddish blond.
- strawberry guava — a shrub or small tree, Psidium littorale, of the myrtle family, native to Brazil, having smooth, grayish-brown bark, leathery leaves, white flowers, and edible, white-fleshed, purplish-red fruit.
- strawberry shrub — Carolina allspice
- superheavyweight — an amateur boxer weighing more than 91 kg
- swine erysipelas — erysipelas (def 2).
- swiss army knife — a small knife with blades and other tools, such as a nail file and corkscrew, all folding into the handle.
- systems software — Computers. a collection of system programs for use with a particular computer system.
- to sow your oats — (of a young person) to behave in a rather uncontrolled way, esp by having a lot of sexual relationships
- two-party system — a political system consisting chiefly of two major parties, more or less equal in strength.
- utility software — system software that manages and optimizes the performance of hardware
- voluntary worker — a person who serves or acts in a specified function of their own accord and without compulsion or promise of remuneration
- water lily tulip — a showy tulip, Tulipa kaufmanniana, of Turkestan, having spreading, white or pale-yellow flowers with yellow centers streaked with red.
- waterleaf family — the plant family Hydrophyllaceae, characterized by usually hairy herbaceous plants having lobed, divided, or compound leaves, five-parted blue or white flowers, and capsular fruit, and including baby-blue-eyes, phacelia, and waterleaf.
- way of the cross — stations of the cross.
- way of the world — a comedy of manners (1700) by William Congreve.
- weather advisory — advisory (def 5).
- welfare payments — government benefits
- white water lily — any water lily of the genus Nymphaea, especially N. odorata, having fragrant, white flowers.
- white-haired boy — a favourite; darling
- whole nine yards — a common unit of linear measure in English-speaking countries, equal to 3 feet or 36 inches, and equivalent to 0.9144 meter.
- yellow archangel — a Eurasian herbaceous plant (Lamiastrum luteum) that has yellow helmet-shaped flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)