18-letter words containing l, a, w, r
- st. lawrence river — a river in SE Canada, flowing NE from Lake Ontario, forming part of the boundary between New York and Ontario, and emptying into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 760 miles (1225 km) long.
- swarm intelligence — the collective behaviour of a group of animals, esp social insects such as ants, bees, and termites, that are each following very basic rules
- sweet vernal grass — a Eurasian meadow grass, Anthoxanthum odoratum, found throughout North America, having clusters of brownish-green flowers.
- telford and wrekin — a unitary authority in W Central England, in Shropshire. Pop: 160 300 (2003 est). Area: 289 sq km (112 sq miles)
- territorial waters — law: nation's boundaries
- the bird has flown — the person in question has fled or escaped
- to plough a furrow — If you say that someone ploughs a particular furrow or ploughs their own furrow, you mean that their activities or interests are different or isolated from those of other people.
- traditional weapon — a weapon having ceremonial tribal significance, such as an assegai or knobkerrie
- ultralow frequency — an electromagnetic wave with a frequency between 300 and 3000 hertz. Abbreviation: ULF, ulf.
- ultrasonic welding — the use of high-energy vibration of ultrasonic frequency to produce a weld between two components which are held in close contact
- vicar of wakefield — a novel (1766) by Goldsmith.
- wandering minstrel — travelling performer
- warning coloration — a bold, distinctive pattern of color characteristic of a poisonous or unpalatable organism, as the skunk or the monarch butterfly, that functions as a warning to and defense against predators.
- watson-crick model — a widely accepted model for the three-dimensional structure of DNA, featuring a double-helix configuration for the molecule's two hydrogen-bonded complementary polynucleotide strands.
- weak nuclear force — weak interaction
- welwyn garden city — a town in SE England, in Hertfordshire: established (1920) as a planned industrial and residential community. Pop: 43 512 (2001)
- western alienation — a feeling of resentment by some inhabitants of western Canada against perceived favouritism by the national government towards the eastern provinces
- western meadowlark — any of several American songbirds of the genus Sturnella, of the family Icteridae, especially S. magna (eastern meadowlark) and S. neglecta (western meadowlark) having a brownish and black back and wings and a yellow breast, noted for their clear, tuneful song.
- wheelchair housing — housing designed or adapted for a chairbound person
- whispering gallery — a space or gallery beneath a dome or broad arch in which low sounds produced at any of certain points are clearly audible at certain other distant points.
- white-collar crime — any of various crimes, as embezzlement, fraud, or stealing office equipment, committed by business or professional people while working at their occupations.
- wild passionflower — the maypop, Passiflora incarnata.
- wildlife programme — (esp on television) a documentary whose subject is wild animals in their natural habitat or undomesticated fauna and flora generally
- wildlife sanctuary — an area where wild animals and plants are protected
- wilson's phalarope — a phalarope, Phalaropus tricolor, that breeds in the prairie regions of North America and winters in Argentina and Chile.
- winged everlasting — a bushy composite plant, Ammobium alatum, of Australia, having winged branches, javelin-shaped leaves, and white flowers.
- withdrawal symptom — effects of stopping a drug
- woman of the world — a woman experienced and sophisticated in the ways and manners of the world, especially the world of society.
- women's liberation — a movement to combat sexual discrimination and to gain full legal, economic, vocational, educational, and social rights and opportunities for women, equal to those of men.
- world championship — an international competition in a particular sport or activity for people all around the world
- world trade center — New York: business district
- wrangell mountains — a mountain range in SE Alaska, extending into the Yukon, Canada. Highest peak: Mount Blackburn, 5037 m (16 523 ft)
- wrongful dismissal — the act of making someone redundant for reasons which are illegal or unjust
- yellow-green algae — a group of common single-celled and colonial algae of the phylum Chrysophyta, having mostly yellow and green pigments, occurring in soil and on moist rocks and vegetation and also as a slime or scum on ponds and stagnant waters.