17-letter words containing o, s, i
- visible radiation — electromagnetic radiation that causes the sensation of sight; light. It has wavelengths between about 380 and 780 nanometres
- visitation rights — the legal right granted to a divorced or separated parent to visit a child in the custody of the other parent.
- visitors' gallery — a balcony in a building such as a parliament or court where members of the public can sit
- vocational school — a school offering instruction in one or more skilled or semiskilled trades or occupations.
- voice synthesizer — a computer system that is used to artificially produce the human voice
- 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).
- wallowa mountains — a mountain range in NE Oregon. Highest peak, Sacajawea Peak, 9838 feet (2999 meters).
- wang laboratories — (body) Computer manufacturer, known for their office automation products and the Wang PC. Quarterly sales $208M, profits $3M (Aug 1994).
- wardrobe mistress — a woman in charge of keeping theatrical costumes cleaned, pressed, and in wearable condition.
- warehouse receipt — a receipt for goods placed in a warehouse.
- warehousing costs — the costs involved in storing goods in a warehouse
- 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.
- washington island — an island off the Door Peninsula, NE Wisconsin, in NW Lake Michigan. 20 sq. mi. (50 sq. km).
- washington square — a short novel (1881) by Henry James.
- weapons inspector — a person who inspects a country's weapons
- weeping lovegrass — any grass of the genus Eragrostis, as E. curvula (weeping lovegrass) and E. trichodes (sand lovegrass) cultivated as forage and ground cover.
- weigh one's words — a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning. Words are composed of one or more morphemes and are either the smallest units susceptible of independent use or consist of two or three such units combined under certain linking conditions, as with the loss of primary accent that distinguishes black·bird· from black· bird·. Words are usually separated by spaces in writing, and are distinguished phonologically, as by accent, in many languages.
- 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.
- welsh nationalism — the political belief that Wales should be independent
- welsh nationalist — a person who believes that Wales should be independent
- wet one's whistle — to make a clear musical sound, a series of such sounds, or a high-pitched, warbling sound by the forcible expulsion of the breath through a small opening formed by contracting the lips, or through the teeth, with the aid of the tongue.
- wheatstone bridge — a circuit for measuring an unknown resistance by comparing it with known resistances.
- whiskey rebellion — a revolt of settlers in western Pennsylvania in 1794 against a federal excise tax on whiskey: suppressed by militia called out by President George Washington to establish the authority of the federal government.
- whistler's mother — (formal name, Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1: Portrait of the Artist's Mother) a painting (1871) by James McNeill Whistler.
- 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-nationalism — white supremacy.
- wild sweet potato — man-of-the-earth.
- william shoemaker — William Lee ("Willie") 1931–2003, U.S. jockey.
- williams syndrome — an abnormality in the genes involved in calcium metabolism, resulting in learning difficulties
- windowglass shell — capiz.
- windows messaging — (messaging) Microsoft's Internet electronic mail application, formerly called Microsoft Exchange.
- wings of the dove — a novel (1902) by Henry James.
- wireless operator — a radio operator
- wisdom of solomon — a book of the Apocrypha.
- wish someone well — to wish success or good fortune for someone
- women's institute — (in Britain and Commonwealth countries) a society for women interested in the problems of the home and in engaging in social activities
- wood preservative — a coating applied to timber as a protection against decay, insects, weather, etc
- woolly rhinoceros — an extinct rhinoceros; Coelodonta antiquitatis
- working substance — a substance, usually a fluid, that undergoes changes in pressure, temperature, volume, or form as part of a process for accomplishing work.
- worth one's while — a period or interval of time: to wait a long while; He arrived a short while ago.
- wring one's hands — If someone wrings their hands, they hold them together and twist and turn them, usually because they are very worried or upset about something. You can also say that someone is wringing their hands when they are expressing sorrow that a situation is so bad but are saying that they are unable to change it.
- x image extension — (XIE) Extensions to the X protocol to handle images.
- year of confusion — (in ancient Rome) the year of 445 days preceding the introduction, in 46 b.c., of the Julian calendar: lengthened to compensate for the cumulative errors of the Roman calendar.
- yellow journalism — a color like that of egg yolk, ripe lemons, etc.; the primary color between green and orange in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 570 and 590 nm.
- yellowstone river — river flowing from NW Wyo. through Mont. into the Missouri River: 671 mi (1,080 km)
- yesterday morning — during the morning of the day preceding today
- yorkshire pudding — a pudding made of an unsweetened batter of flour, salt, eggs, and milk, baked under meat as it roasts to catch the drippings or baked separately with a small amount of meat drippings.
- yorkshire terrier — one of an English breed of toy terriers having a long, silky, straight coat that is dark steel blue from the back of the skull to the tail and tan on the head, chest, and legs.