17-letter words containing i, n, w
- show in (or out) — to usher into (or out of) a given place
- sidewall sampling — Sidewall sampling is the process of taking a sample from the wall of the borehole.
- singer-songwriter — A singer-songwriter is someone who writes and performs their own songs, especially popular songs.
- sino-japanese war — the war (1894–95) between China and Japan over the control of Korea that resulted in the nominal independence of Korea and the Chinese cession to Japan of Formosa and the Pescadores.
- slap on the wrist — a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
- slings and arrows — Slings and arrows are unpleasant things that happen to you and that are not your fault.
- snowmass mountain — a mountain in W central Colorado, in the Elk Mountains, in the S Rocky Mountains: ski resorts. 14,092 feet (4295 meters).
- social networking — the development of social and professional contacts; the sharing of information and services among people with a common interest.
- social notworking — the practice of spending time unproductively on social networking websites, esp when one should be working
- software engineer — a person who writes computer programs
- spaghetti western — a low-budget western movie shot in Italy or Spain, usually with Italian actors and an American star.
- spanish civil war — the civil war in Spain 1936–39.
- spin one's wheels — a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery.
- spiny-headed worm — any of a small group of endoparasites of the phylum Acanthocephala, as larvae parasitic in insects and crustaceans and as adults in various vertebrates.
- spread your wings — if you spread your wings, you do something new and rather difficult or move to a new place, because you feel more confident in your abilities than you used to and you want to gain wider experience
- 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)
- st. swithin's day — July 15, superstitiously regarded as a day that, should it rain or be fair, will be followed by 40 consecutive days of like weather.
- straw in the wind — If you say that an incident or piece of news is a straw in the wind, you mean that it gives an indication of what might happen in the future.
- sun-2 workstation — (computer) A Unix workstation produced by Sun Microsystems, Inc., based on the Motorola 68000. Followed by the Sun-3 Workstation.
- sun-3 workstation — (computer) A Unix workstation produced by Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the 1980s, based on the Motorola 68020. Successor to the Sun-2 Workstation, followed by the Sun-4 Workstation. The Sun-3 had a custom MMU. A couple of mutant models used an entirely different architecture.
- sun-4 workstation — (computer) A Unix workstation produced by Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the late 1980s[?], based on SPARC processors. The Sun-4 followed the Sun-3 Workstation. Later SPARC-based workstations were called "SPARCstations".
- swaddling clothes — cloth for wrapping around a baby
- swainson's thrush — a North American thrush, Catharus ustulatus, having olive upper parts and wintering south to Argentina.
- 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.
- switching station — A switching station is equipment used to tie together two or more electric circuits through switches.
- 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
- tell its own tale — to be self-evident
- the final whistle — a blast on a referee's whistle to indicate that a game is over
- the lower animals — relatively simple or primitive animals and not mammals or vertebrates
- the lower regions — hell
- the unwritten law — the tradition that a person may avenge any insult to family integrity, as used to justify criminal acts of vengeance
- the whole boiling — the whole lot
- the winter season — the season of the year that covers the winter months
- the witching hour — the hour at which witches are supposed to appear, usually midnight
- tilt at windmills — to cause to lean, incline, slope, or slant.
- to knit your brow — If you knit your brows or knit your eyebrows, you frown because you are angry or worried.
- to win hands down — If you win hands down, you win very easily.
- top-security wing — a wing of a prison, mental hospital, etc that has a very high level of precautions against escape
- turkish towelling — woven cloth which is used to make towels, wash cloths, etc
- 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.
- unlawful wounding — an offence committed when a person maliciously wounds another person
- utagawa kuniyoshi — original name Igusa Magosabwo. 1797–1861, Japanese painter and printmaker of the ukiyo-e school, best known for his prints of warriors and landscapes
- wage differential — the difference in wages between workers with different skills in the same industry or between those with comparable skills in different industries or localities
- wage negotiations — talks between workers and employers over rates of pay
- waianae mountains — a mountain range in W Oahu, Hawaii. Highest peak, Mount Kaala, 4025 feet (1228 meters).
- waist measurement — a measure of the circumference of the narrowest part of a person's waist
- waitangi tribunal — (in New Zealand) a government tribunal empowered to examine and make recommendations on Māori claims under the Treaty of Waitangi
- waiting for godot — a play (1952) by Samuel Beckett.
- walk a chalk line — to behave with strict propriety or obedience