15-letter words containing s, w, a
- low-pass filter — a filter that transmits all frequencies below a specified value, substantially attenuating frequencies above this value
- lower east side — a section in the borough of Manhattan, New York: noted for its immigrant culture.
- lower slobbovia — any place considered to be remote, poor, or unenlightened.
- mad cow disease — BSE: bovine spongiform encephalopathy
- make allowances — to take mitigating circumstances into account in consideration (of)
- make sb welcome — If you make someone welcome or make them feel welcome, you make them feel happy and accepted in a new place.
- man of his word — 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.
- man-of-war fish — a small, tropical fish, Nomeus gronovii, that lives among the tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war.
- manx shearwater — a European oceanic bird, Puffinus puffinus, with long slender wings and black-and-white plumage: family Procellariidae (shearwaters)
- meadow mushroom — any of various fleshy fungi including the toadstools, puffballs, coral fungi, morels, etc.
- 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.
- mendeleev's law — periodic law (def 2).
- mishnaic hebrew — the Hebrew language as used from about a.d. 70 to 500.
- moccasin flower — the lady's-slipper.
- moving sidewalk — a moving surface, similar to a conveyor belt, for carrying pedestrians.
- moving stairway — escalator (def 1).
- 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
- natural wastage — Natural wastage is the process of employees leaving their jobs because they want to retire or move to other jobs, rather than because their employer makes them leave.
- navigation laws — laws relating to navigation
- nearly-new shop — a shop that sells secondhand clothes and other objects
- neck sweetbread — sweetbread (def 2).
- 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.
- 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 hampshirite — of New Hampshire
- new jersey plan — a plan, unsuccessfully proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a single legislative house with equal representation for each state.
- new south wales — a state in SE Australia. 309,433 sq. mi. (801,430 sq. km). Capital: Sydney.
- 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
- nonwithstanding — Misspelling of notwithstanding.
- northeastwardly — Towards the northeast.
- northwestwardly — Towards the northwest.
- notwithstanding — in spite of; without being opposed or prevented by: Notwithstanding a brilliant defense, he was found guilty. She went to the game anyway, doctor's orders notwithstanding.
- 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.
- overforwardness — the quality of being too familiar
- packet-switched — packet switching
- paradise flower — a prickly vine, Solanum wendlandii, of the nightshade family, native to Costa Rica, having branched clusters of showy lilac-blue flowers.
- parkinson's law — the statement, expressed facetiously as if a law of physics, that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.
- 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
- phase-switching — a technique used in radio interferometry in which the signal from one of the two antennae is periodically reversed in phase before being multiplied by the signal from the other antenna
- pickwick papers — (The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club) a novel (1837) by Charles Dickens.
- port washington — a town on NW Long Island, in SE New York.
- 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.