16-letter words containing w, a, l, t, o
- luck of the draw — the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I'll probably get pneumonia.
- man of the world — a man who is widely experienced in the ways of the world and people; an urbane, sophisticated man.
- molecular weight — the average weight of a molecule of an element or compound measured in units once based on the weight of one hydrogen atom taken as the standard or on 1/16 (0.0625) the weight of an oxygen atom, but after 1961 based on 1/12 (0.083) the weight of the carbon-12 atom; the sum of the atomic weights of all the atoms in a molecule. Abbreviation: mol. wt.
- most wanted list — an actual or supposed listing of the names of persons who are urgently being sought for a specific reason, as apprehension for an alleged crime.
- network analysis — a mathematical method of analyzing complex problems, as in transportation or project scheduling, by representing the problem as a network of lines and nodes.
- new commonwealth — a term used esp in the latter part of the 20th century in Britain to describe countries in the British Commonwealth that became independent after World War II
- optical tweezers — a laser device used to study, manipulate, or trap a microscopic object, as a microorganism or cell, with nanometer precision.
- powerpc platform — (architecture, standard) (PPCP, PReP - PowerPC Reference Platform, formerly CHRP - Common Hardware Reference Platform) An open system standard, designed by IBM, intended to ensure compatibility among PowerPC-based systems built by different companies. The PReP standard specifies the PCI bus, but will also support ISA, MicroChannel and PCMCIA. PReP-compliant systems will be able to run the Macintosh OS, OS/2, WorkplaceOS, AIX, Solaris, Taligent and Windows NT. IBM systems will (of course) be PReP-compliant. Apple's first PowerPC Macintoshes will not be compliant, but future ones may be.
- proposal writing — Extension of Fortran for proposal writing.
- pure watercolour — water-soluble pigment, applied in transparent washes and without the admixture of white pigment in the lighter tones
- rainbow lorikeet — a small Australasian parrot, Trichoglossus haematodus, with brightly-coloured plumage
- regional network — mid-level network
- rotary lawnmower — a lawn mower with a single blade attached in the middle that rotates as the mower is moved
- royal water lily — a water lily, Victoria amazonica (or V. regia), of the Amazon River and British Guiana, having floating leaves from three to six feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters) wide, the upturned margins from two to four inches (5 to 10 cm) high, and dull crimson flowers.
- 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
- strawberry blond — reddish blond.
- sweet almond oil — almond oil (def 1).
- teutoburger wald — a chain of wooded hills in Germany, in Westphalia: Romans defeated by German tribes a.d.
- the commonwealth — the government in England under the Cromwells and Parliament from 1649 to 1660
- the little woman — one's wife
- throw for a loop — a portion of a cord, ribbon, etc., folded or doubled upon itself so as to leave an opening between the parts.
- throw oneself at — to propel or cast in any way, especially to project or propel from the hand by a sudden forward motion or straightening of the arm and wrist: to throw a ball.
- tightrope walker — performer who walks on high wire
- to draw the line — If you draw the line at a particular activity, you refuse to do it, because you disapprove of it or because it is more extreme than what you normally do.
- to go a long way — If you say that something goes a long way towards doing a particular thing, you mean that it is an important factor in achieving that thing.
- 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.
- two-family house — a house designed for occupation by two families in contiguous apartments, as on separate floors.
- two-tailed pasha — a distinctive vanessid butterfly of S Europe, Charaxes jasius, having mottled brown wings with a yellow-orange margin and frilled hind edges
- twofold purchase — a purchase using a double standing block and a double running block so as to give a mechanical advantage of four or five, neglecting friction, depending on whether the hauling is on the standing block or the running block.
- utility software — system software that manages and optimizes the performance of hardware
- vegetable marrow — any of various summer squashes, as the cocozelle and zucchini.
- vegetable tallow — any of several tallowlike substances of vegetable origin, used in making candles, soap, etc., and as lubricants.
- voluntary worker — a person who serves or acts in a specified function of their own accord and without compulsion or promise of remuneration
- walk a tightrope — be in a precarious position
- walrus moustache — a long thick moustache drooping at the ends
- waterless cooker — a tight-lidded kitchen utensil in which food can be cooked using only a small amount of water or only the juices emitted while cooking.
- way of the world — a comedy of manners (1700) by William Congreve.
- well-compensated — to recompense for something: They gave him ten dollars to compensate him for his trouble.
- white sandalwood — the fragrant heartwood of any of certain Asian trees of the genus Santalum, used for ornamental carving and burned as incense.
- whole-tone scale — a scale progressing entirely by whole tones, as C, D, E, F♯, G♯, A♯, C.
- wholeheartedness — fully or completely sincere, enthusiastic, energetic, etc.; hearty; earnest: a wholehearted attempt to comply.
- william hamilton — (person) A mathematician who posed Hamilton's problem.
- willow ptarmigan — a ptarmigan, Lagopus lagopus, of arctic and subarctic regions of the New and Old Worlds, having brown, mottled plumage in summer and white plumage in winter.
- windchill factor — an estimated measurement of the cooling effect of air and wind, esp. when applied to the loss of body heat from exposed skin; chill factor
- windfall profits — Windfall profits are excessive profits with a non-business cause such as a natural disaster.
- woman of letters — a woman engaged in literary pursuits, especially a professional writer.
- woodland culture — a long pre-Columbian tradition characterized by the corded pottery of a hunting and later agricultural people of the eastern U.S. noted for the construction of burial mounds and other structures and dating from c1000 b.c. to a.d. 1700.
- woolly manzanita — a tree or shrub, Arctostaphylos tomentosa, of the heath family, common from British Columbia to California, having broad leaves, with the underside covered with white hairs, and white flowers.
- world federalist — a promoter or supporter of world federalism.