15-letter words containing o, s, w, e
- meals on wheels — a program, usually one supported or subsidized by a charitable, social, or government agency, for delivering hot meals regularly to elderly, disabled, or convalescing persons who are housebound and cannot cook for themselves.
- moccasin flower — the lady's-slipper.
- moving sidewalk — a moving surface, similar to a conveyor belt, for carrying pedestrians.
- multiphase flow — Multiphase flow is a type of flow that involves more than one fluid, for example a liquid and a gas, or two liquids that do not mix.
- napoleonic wars — French-led war in early 19th century
- nearly-new shop — a shop that sells secondhand clothes and other objects
- nest of drawers — a miniature chest of drawers made in the 18th century, often set on top of a desk or table.
- network address — (networking) 1. The network portion of an IP address. For a class A network, the network address is the first byte of the IP address. For a class B network, the network address is the first two bytes of the IP address. For a class C network, the network address is the first three bytes of the IP address. In each case, the remainder is the host address. In the Internet, assigned network addresses are globally unique. See also subnet address, Internet Registry. 2. (Or "net address") An electronic mail address on the network. In the 1980s this might have been a bang path but now (1997) it is nearly always a domain address. Such an address is essential if one wants to be to be taken seriously by hackers; in particular, persons or organisations that claim to understand, work with, sell to, or recruit from among hackers but *don't* display net addresses are quietly presumed to be clueless poseurs and mentally flushed. Hackers often put their net addresses on their business cards and wear them prominently in contexts where they expect to meet other hackers face-to-face (e.g. science-fiction fandom). This is mostly functional, but is also a signal that one identifies with hackerdom (like lodge pins among Masons or tie-dyed T-shirts among Grateful Dead fans). Net addresses are often used in e-mail text as a more concise substitute for personal names; indeed, hackers may come to know each other quite well by network names without ever learning each others' real monikers. See also sitename, domainist.
- network segment — (networking) A part of an Ethernet or other network, on which all message traffic is common to all nodes, i.e. it is broadcast from one node on the segment and received by all others. This is normally because the segment is a single continuous conductor, though it may include repeaters(?). Since all nodes share the physical medium, collision detection or some other protocol is required to determine whether a message was transmitted without interference from other nodes. The receiving node inspects the destination address of a packet to tell if it was (one of) the intended recipient(s). Communication between nodes on different segments is via one or more routers.
- neural networks — any group of neurons that conduct impulses in a coordinated manner, as the assemblages of brain cells that record a visual stimulus.
- new south wales — a state in SE Australia. 309,433 sq. mi. (801,430 sq. km). Capital: Sydney.
- new territories — a British crown colony comprising Hong Kong island (29 sq. mi.; 75 sq. km), Kowloon peninsula, nearby islands, and the adjacent mainland in SE China (New Territories) reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. 404 sq. mi. (1046 sq. km). Capital: Victoria.
- new york school — a loosely associated group of American and European artists and sculptors, especially abstract expressionist painters, active in and near New York City chiefly in the 1940s and 1950s.
- news conference — a press conference, especially one held by a government official.
- newton's cradle — an ornamental puzzle consisting of a frame in which five metal balls are suspended in such a way that when one is moved it sets all the others in motion in turn
- newton's method — a process for approximating the roots of an equation by replacing the curve representing the equation by its tangent and finding the intersection of the tangent with the x-axis and iterating this process.
- north-northwest — the point on the compass midway between north and northwest. Abbreviation: NNW.
- northeastwardly — Towards the northeast.
- northwestwardly — Towards the northwest.
- old wives' tale — a traditional belief, story, or idea that is often of a superstitious nature.
- onward progress — progress that advances or improves (a situation, etc)
- outside forward — one of two attacking players who usually play on the far side of the field; wing.
- overcrowdedness — filled to excess; packed.
- overforwardness — the quality of being too familiar
- paradise flower — a prickly vine, Solanum wendlandii, of the nightshade family, native to Costa Rica, having branched clusters of showy lilac-blue flowers.
- peachblow glass — an American art glass made in various pale colors and sometimes having an underlayer of milk glass.
- personal growth — development as an individual
- pinkster flower — a wild azalea, Rhododendron periclymenoides, of the U.S., having pink or purplish flowers.
- port wine stain — a large birthmark of purplish color, usually on the face or neck.
- port-wine stain — a large birthmark of purplish color, usually on the face or neck.
- power breakfast — If business people have a power breakfast, they go to a restaurant early in the morning so that they can have a meeting while they eat breakfast.
- power macintosh — Power Mac
- power save mode — (architecture) A feature of a component or subsystem designed to actively reduce its power consumption when not in use. Almost any electronic device might benefit from having a power save mode but the most common application is for portable computers which attempt to conserve battery life by incorporating power saving modes in the CPU, display, disks, printer, or other units.
- power structure — the system of authority or influence in government, politics, education, etc.: The state elections threatened to upset the existing power structure.
- primrose yellow — primrose (def 3).
- prince of wales — Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall ("The Black Prince") 1330–76, English military leader (son of Edward III).
- prisoner of war — a person who is captured and held by an enemy during war, especially a member of the armed forces. Abbreviation: POW.
- psyllid yellows — a viral disease transmitted by the potato psyllid, causing the young leaves of potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers to curl and turn yellow or purplish.
- question of law — a question concerning a rule or the legal effect or consequence of an event or circumstance, usually determined by a court or judge.
- red sandal wood — the fragrant heartwood of any of certain Asian trees of the genus Santalum, used for ornamental carving and burned as incense.
- redwood seconds — a scale of measurement of viscosity based on the time in seconds taken for fluid to flow through a standard orifice: accepted as standard in the UK in 1886
- rendering works — (used with a singular verb) a factory or plant that renders and processes livestock carcasses into tallow, hides, fertilizer, etc.
- research fellow — A research fellow is a member of an academic institution whose job is to do research.
- research worker — investigative scientist
- resolving power — Optics. the ability of an optical device to produce separate images of close objects.
- reworked fossil — a fossil eroded from sediment and redeposited in younger sediment
- riverworthiness — (of a boat) the quality or state of being riverworthy
- robertson screw — a screw having a square hole in the head into which a screwdriver with a square point (Robertson screwdriver (trademark)) fits
- rolling meadows — a city in NE Illinois, near Chicago.
- round the twist — mad; eccentric