17-letter words containing i, c, e, w
- mileage allowance — the number of miles allowed to be travelled on a rented vehicle such as a car during the period it is rented or leased
- newcastle disease — a rapidly spreading virus-induced disease of birds and domestic fowl, as chickens, marked by respiratory difficulty, reduced egg production and, in chicks, paralysis.
- newspaper cutting — clipping from a news publication
- norwegian current — an ocean current formed from the terminus of the North Atlantic Current, flowing N along the Norwegian coast into the Barents Sea.
- pacific northwest — the region of North America lying north of the Columbia River and west of the Rockies
- pincushion flower — scabious2 (def 1).
- quantum cell wire — (electronics, computing) (Or "quantum wire", "binary wire") Quantum cells arranged in a line to carry signals. Adjacent cells with the same orientation are at a low energy state and a change of orientation at one end of a quantum wire propagates along the wire, transmitting a signal. However, unlike conventional wire, since only the orientation of charge pairs changes, no current flows. Circuits created using quantum cell wires are referred to as Quantum-dot Wireless Digital Circuits, see quantum dot, Quantum-dot Cellular Automata.
- quick on the draw — having fast reflexes
- radioactive waste — the radioactive by-products from the operation of a nuclear reactor or from the reprocessing of depleted nuclear fuel.
- renaissance woman — a woman who has acquired profound knowledge or proficiency in more than one field.
- row-level locking — (database) A technique used in database management systems, where a row is locked for writing to prevent other users from accessing data being while it is being updated. Other techniques are table locking and MVCC.
- secondary rainbow — a faint rainbow formed by light rays that undergo two internal reflections in drops of rain, appearing above the primary rainbow and having its colors in the opposite order.
- secondary winding — A secondary winding is the winding of a transformer that receives its energy by electromagnetic induction from the primary winding.
- social networking — the development of social and professional contacts; the sharing of information and services among people with a common interest.
- south west africa — a former name of Namibia.
- south-west africa — a former name of Namibia.
- spring cankerworm — the striped, green caterpillar of any of several geometrid moths: a foliage pest of various fruit and shade trees, as Paleacrita vernata (spring cankerworm) and Alsophila pometaria (fall cankerworm)
- swaddling clothes — cloth for wrapping around a baby
- sweating sickness — a febrile epidemic disease that appeared in the 15th and 16th centuries: characterized by profuse sweating and frequently fatal in a few hours.
- teaching software — computer software for use in providing online education
- technical drawing — the study and practice, esp as a subject taught in school, of the basic techniques of draughtsmanship, as employed in mechanical drawing, architecture, etc
- the water carrier — the constellation Aquarius, the 11th sign of the zodiac
- the witching hour — the hour at which witches are supposed to appear, usually midnight
- top-security wing — a wing of a prison, mental hospital, etc that has a very high level of precautions against escape
- turn-down service — In a hotel, a turn-down service is the preparation of a room for a guest to sleep in by slightly turning back the comforter on the bed, turning down the lights, and so on.
- twelve patriarchs — any of the sons of Jacob ((the twelve patriarchs),) from whom the tribes of Israel were descended.
- verticillium wilt — a disease affecting many temperate-climate plants in hot weather, caused by soil-inhabiting fungi of the genus Verticillium and characterized by wilt, dulling or yellowing of leaf color, and withering near the base.
- wage-price spiral — a situation in which wage and price increases drive each other upward and cause inflation
- walk a chalk line — to behave with strict propriety or obedience
- warehouse receipt — a receipt for goods placed in a warehouse.
- warehousing costs — the costs involved in storing goods in a warehouse
- warm-up exercises — preparatory exercises done to warm up the muscles
- warsaw convention — a multilateral treaty on aviation set up chiefly to limit air carriers' liability to passengers and shippers on international flights in the event of an accident.
- weapons inspector — a person who inspects a country's weapons
- wedding reception — party after a marriage
- welfare economics — a branch of economics concerned with improving human welfare and social conditions chiefly through the optimum distribution of wealth, the relief or reduction of unemployment, etc.
- well-accomplished — completed; done; effected: an accomplished fact.
- well-woman clinic — a health-service clinic for preventive monitoring, health education, and advice for women
- white blood cells — any of various nearly colorless cells of the immune system that circulate mainly in the blood and lymph and participate in reactions to invading microorganisms or foreign particles, comprising the B cells, T cells, macrophages, monocytes, and granulocytes.
- white book cd-rom — (hardware, standard) A more open CD-ROM standard than Green Book CD-ROM. All films mastered on CD-ROM after March 1994 use White Book. Like Green Book, it is ISO 9660 compliant, uses mode 2 form 2 addressing and can only be played on a CD-ROM drive which is XA (Extended Architecture) compatible. White book CDs are labelled "Video CD".
- wild service tree — either of two European trees, Sorbus domestica, bearing a small, acid fruit that is edible when overripe, or S. torminalis (wild service tree) bearing a similar fruit.
- willow flycatcher — a North American flycatcher, Empidonax alnorum, of alder thickets and other moist areas, that has greenish-brown upper parts and whitish underparts and is almost indistinguishable except by voice from E. traillii (willow flycatcher)
- wimshurst machine — a device for the production of electric charge by electrostatic induction, consisting of two oppositely rotating glass or mica disks carrying metal strips upon which charges are induced and subsequently removed by contact with metallic combs.
- winchester bushel — a unit of dry measure containing 4 pecks, equivalent in the U.S. (and formerly in England) to 2150.42 cubic inches or 35.24 liters (Winchester bushel) and in Great Britain to 2219.36 cubic inches or 36.38 liters (Imperial bushel) Abbreviation: bu., bush.
- winding staircase — long set of spiral stairs
- windscreen washer — a small nozzle on the bonnet of a motor vehicle, from which jets of water are squirted electronically onto the windscreen to help clean it
- with a difference — If you describe a job or holiday, for example, as a job with a difference or a holiday with a difference, you mean that the job or holiday is very interesting and unusual.
- without exception — all included
- without prejudice — fairly
- woolly rhinoceros — an extinct rhinoceros; Coelodonta antiquitatis