16-letter words containing s, w, i, e
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- seidlitz powders — a mild laxative consisting of tartaric acid, sodium bicarbonate, and Rochelle salt, which are dissolved separately, mixed, and drunk after effervescence.
- seward peninsula — a peninsula in W Alaska, on Bering Strait.
- 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
- short sweetening — sugar.
- shorthand writer — a person trained to write in shorthand
- show-me attitude — a sceptical frame of mind
- showbiz reporter — a journalist who writes about the entertainment industry
- sir isaac newton — Sir Isaac, 1642–1727, English philosopher and mathematician: formulator of the law of gravitation.
- slow metabolizer — A slow metabolizer is someone whose body is slow to break down, absorb, or use a particular substance.
- software library — a collection of programs that are used to develop software
- speed networking — the practice of trying to form business connections and contacts through meetings at which individuals are given the opportunity to have several conversations of limited duration with strangers
- spring snowflake — a European amaryllidaceous plant, Leucojum vernum, with white nodding bell-shaped flowers
- straight whiskey — pure, unblended whiskey of 80 to 110 proof.
- strawberry blite — a plant, Chenopodium capitatum, having dense, rounded clusters of minute reddish flowers.
- subsistence wage — the lowest wage upon which a worker and his or her family can survive
- sumo (wrestling) — a highly stylized Japanese form of wrestling engaged in by large, extremely heavy men
- superheavyweight — an amateur boxer weighing more than 91 kg
- swedenborgianism — of or relating to Emanuel Swedenborg, his religious doctrines, or the body of followers adhering to these doctrines and constituting the Church of the New Jerusalem, or New Church.
- swedish vallhund — a small sturdy dog of a Swedish breed with a long body and pricked pointed ears
- sweet almond oil — almond oil (def 1).
- sweeten the pill — If someone does something to sweeten the pill or sugar the pill, they do it to make some unpleasant news or an unpleasant measure more acceptable.
- swimming costume — A swimming costume is the same as a swimsuit.
- swine erysipelas — erysipelas (def 2).
- swinging sixties — the 1960s as a decade when social and sexual freedom increased
- swiss army knife — a small knife with blades and other tools, such as a nail file and corkscrew, all folding into the handle.
- swiss stone pine — a five-needled pine tree, Pinus cembra,, found especially in mountain regions of Central Europe and yielding edible seeds
- swiss tournament — (in certain games and sports) a tournament system in which players are paired in each round according to the scores they then have, playing a new opponent each time. More players can take part than in an all-play-all tournament of the same duration
- the swiss-french — people from French-speaking Switzerland
- the two sicilies — a former kingdom of S Italy, consisting of the kingdoms of Sicily and Naples (1061–1860)
- the war-disabled — those people who have been disabled by war
- the weakest link — the person who is making the least contribution to the collective achievement of a group
- the welsh office — (formerly) a department of the British government with responsibility for Welsh policies. It was replaced by the Wales office in 1999.
- this-worldliness — concern or preoccupation with worldly things and values.
- to waste no time — If you waste no time in doing something, you take the opportunity to do it immediately or quickly.
- tokugawa iyeyasu — Tokugawa [taw-koo-gah-wah] /ˈtɔ kuˈgɑ wɑ/ (Show IPA), 1542–1616, Japanese general and public servant.
- topless swimsuit — swimsuit which has no covering for the breasts
- torricelli's law — the law that states that the speed of flow of a liquid from an orifice is equal to the speed that it would attain if falling freely a distance equal to the height of the free surface of the liquid above the orifice.
- tower of silence — a circular stone platform, typically 30 feet (9.1 meter) in height, on which the Parsees of India leave their dead to be devoured by vultures.
- turn upside down — invert
- twenty questions — an oral game in which one player selects a word or object whose identity the other players attempt to guess by asking up to twenty questions that can be answered with a yes or a no.
- twin-lens camera — a camera having two separately mounted lenses coordinated to eliminate parallax errors or for making stereoscopic photographs.