16-letter words containing s, w, e
- newspaper report — a report published in a newspaper
- nine-days wonder — something that arouses great interest, but only for a short period
- northwesternmost — Farthest northwest.
- observation ward — a ward in a hospital where patients are monitored
- offensive weapon — an instrument designed to be used in attack, or an object which may be used in attack
- okefenokee swamp — a large wooded swamp area in SE Georgia.
- on a world scale — in a way that involves the whole world
- optical tweezers — a laser device used to study, manipulate, or trap a microscopic object, as a microorganism or cell, with nanometer precision.
- otherworldliness — The quality of being otherworldly.
- out of the woods — the hard, fibrous substance composing most of the stem and branches of a tree or shrub, and lying beneath the bark; the xylem.
- overwhelmingness — that overwhelms; overpowering: The temptation to despair may become overwhelming.
- packet switching — a method of efficient data transmission whereby the initial message is broken into relatively small units, or packets, that are routed independently and subsequently reassembled.
- packet-switching — a method of efficient data transmission whereby the initial message is broken into relatively small units, or packets, that are routed independently and subsequently reassembled.
- pearls of wisdom — good advice, wise words
- phillis wheatley — Phillis [fil-is] /ˈfɪl ɪs/ (Show IPA), 1753?–84, American poet, born in Africa; probably Senegal.
- place of worship — religious house: church, temple
- poiseuille's law — the law that the velocity of a liquid flowing through a capillary is directly proportional to the pressure of the liquid and the fourth power of the radius of the capillary and is inversely proportional to the viscosity of the liquid and the length of the capillary.
- poor boy sweater — a snug-fitting, pullover sweater with ribbing on both the body and sleeves, worn by girls and women.
- poor white trash — white trash.
- pressure welding — the welding together of two objects by holding them together under pressure.
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- purchasing power — Also called buying power. the ability to purchase goods and services.
- put someone wise — having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgment, or discretion.
- put to the sword — to kill with a sword or swords
- queen anne's war — the war (1702–13) in which England and its American colonies opposed France and its Indian allies. It constituted the American phase of the War of the Spanish Succession.
- rainbow seaperch — an embiotocid fish, Hypsurus caryi, living off the Pacific coast of North America, having red, orange, and blue stripes on the body.
- raise an eyebrow — If something causes you to raise an eyebrow or to raise your eyebrows, it causes you to feel surprised or disapproving.
- raspberry sawfly — a black sawfly, Monophadnoides geniculatus, the larvae of which feed on the leaves of the raspberry and blackberry.
- rattlesnake weed — a hawkweed, Hieracium venosum, of eastern North America, whose leaves and root are thought to possess medicinal properties.
- reprocessed wool — wool cloth respun and rewoven from the raveled fibers of unused cloth, such as the waste or clippings from a garment factory
- rochelle powders — (not in technical use) Seidlitz powders.
- sb will be lucky — If you say that someone will be lucky to do or get something, you mean that they are very unlikely to do or get it, and will definitely not do or get any more than that.
- schweizerdeutsch — Schwyzertütsch.
- seaside knotweed — See under knotweed.
- second world war — World War II.
- secondary growth — an increase in the thickness of the shoots and roots of a vascular plant as a result of the formation of new cells in the cambium.
- seidlitz powders — a mild laxative consisting of tartaric acid, sodium bicarbonate, and Rochelle salt, which are dissolved separately, mixed, and drunk after effervescence.
- seven weeks' war — the war (1866) in which Prussia, Italy, and some minor German states opposed Austria, Saxony, Hanover, and the states of southern Germany.
- seven years' war — the war (1756–63) in which England and Prussia defeated France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony.
- seward peninsula — a peninsula in W Alaska, on Bering Strait.
- shaft horsepower — the horsepower delivered to the driving shaft of an engine, as measured by a torsion meter. Abbreviation: shp, SHP.
- shakedown cruise — extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.
- shared ownership — (in Britain) a form of house purchase whereby the purchaser buys a proportion of the dwelling, usually from a local authority or housing association, and rents the rest
- sheet-web weaver — any of numerous spiders of the family Linyphiidae, characterized by a closely woven, sheetlike web.
- short sweetening — sugar.
- shorthand writer — a person trained to write in shorthand
- show cause order — a court order issued to a party in a lawsuit, directing that party to appear to give reasons why a certain action should not be put into effect by the court.
- show one's heels — to run away
- show one's teeth — (in most vertebrates) one of the hard bodies or processes usually attached in a row to each jaw, serving for the prehension and mastication of food, as weapons of attack or defense, etc., and in mammals typically composed chiefly of dentin surrounding a sensitive pulp and covered on the crown with enamel.
- show-me attitude — a sceptical frame of mind