15-letter words containing w, a, n, e, r
- towers of hanoi — (games) A classic computer science problem, invented by Edouard Lucas in 1883, often used as an example of recursion. "In the great temple at Benares, says he, beneath the dome which marks the centre of the world, rests a brass plate in which are fixed three diamond needles, each a cubit high and as thick as the body of a bee. On one of these needles, at the creation, God placed sixty-four discs of pure gold, the largest disc resting on the brass plate, and the others getting smaller and smaller up to the top one. This is the Tower of Bramah. Day and night unceasingly the priests transfer the discs from one diamond needle to another according to the fixed and immutable laws of Bramah, which require that the priest on duty must not move more than one disc at a time and that he must place this disc on a needle so that there is no smaller disc below it. When the sixty-four discs shall have been thus transferred from the needle on which at the creation God placed them to one of the other needles, tower, temple, and Brahmins alike will crumble into dust, and with a thunderclap the world will vanish." The recursive solution is: Solve for n-1 discs recursively, then move the remaining largest disc to the free needle. Note that there is also a non-recursive solution: On odd-numbered moves, move the smallest sized disk clockwise. On even-numbered moves, make the single other move which is possible.
- training wheels — a pair of small wheels attached one on each side of the rear wheel of a bicycle for stability while one is learning to ride.
- transfer window — the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other teams into their own
- transverse wave — a wave in which the direction of displacement is perpendicular to the direction of propagation, as a surface wave of water.
- travelling wave — a wave carrying energy away from its source
- trigger warning — a stated warning that the content of a text, video, etc., may upset or offend some people, especially those who have previously experienced a related trauma: a blog post with a trigger warning for rape.
- twist one's arm — to combine, as two or more strands or threads, by winding together; intertwine.
- unanswerability — the quality of not being answerable or contestable
- unseaworthiness — constructed, outfitted, manned, and in all respects fitted for a voyage at sea.
- upperclasswoman — An upperclasswoman is a junior or senior student in a high school, college, or university.
- viewing gallery — an area in a building or outside for viewing an activity, the surrounding scenery, etc
- völkerwanderung — the migration of peoples, esp of Germanic and Slavic peoples into S and W Europe from 2nd to 11th centuries
- waddesdon manor — a mansion near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire: built (1880–89) in the French style for the Rothschild family: noted for its furnishings and collections of porcelain and paintings
- wage bargaining — discussions between representatives of employees and employers in order to agree levels of pay
- warmheartedness — The quality of being warmhearted.
- warrant officer — (in the U.S. Armed Forces) an officer of one of four grades ranking above enlisted personnel and below commissioned officers.
- warrantableness — Quality of being warrantable.
- wassermann test — a diagnostic test for syphilis using the fixation of a complement by the serum of a syphilitic individual.
- water pennywort — any of numerous perennial herbs of the genus Hydrocotyle, of the parsley family, having rounded leaves and living in water or marshy places.
- water pimpernel — the brookweed.
- water pollution — the pollution of the sea and rivers
- water treatment — the act or process of making water more potable or useful, as by purifying, clarifying, softening, or deodorizing it.
- water-repellent — having a finish that resists but is not impervious to water.
- water-resistant — resisting though not entirely preventing the penetration of water.
- weapons carrier — a light truck for transporting weapons or munitions in the field.
- wearing apparel — clothing; garments.
- weather balloon — sounding balloon.
- weather station — an installation equipped and used for meteorological observation.
- weatherboarding — an early type of board used as a siding for a building.
- weatherproofing — Present participle of weatherproof.
- wedding planner — sb hired to organize a marriage day
- weekend warrior — a reservist who attends weekend meetings of his or her unit in order to fulfill military obligations.
- weight training — weightlifting done as a conditioning exercise.
- well-integrated — combining or coordinating separate elements so as to provide a harmonious, interrelated whole: an integrated plot; an integrated course of study.
- welsbach burner — a type of gaslight in which a mantle containing thorium and cerium compounds becomes incandescent when heated by a gas flame
- wentworth scale — a scale for specifying the sizes (diameters) of sedimentary particles, ranging from clay particles (less than 1⁄256 mm) to boulders (over 256 mm)
- wernicke's area — a portion of the left posterior temporal lobe of the brain, involved in the ability to understand words.
- west carrollton — a town in W Ohio.
- western tanager — a tanager, Piranga ludoviciana, of western North America, the male of which is black, yellow, and orange-red.
- what's-her-name — a girl or woman whose name is unknown, temporarily forgotten, or deliberately overlooked
- wheaten terrier — soft-coated wheaten terrier.
- wheelchairbound — Confined to a wheelchair.
- whippersnappers — Plural form of whippersnapper.
- white cast iron — cast iron having most or all of its carbon in the form of cementite and exhibiting a silvery fracture.
- white snakeroot — a North American plant, Eupatorium urticaefolium, the roots or rhizomes of which have been used as a remedy for snakebite
- wiener neustadt — a city in E Austria, in Lower Austria. Pop: 37 627 (2002)
- wilderness area — a region whose natural growth is protected by legislation and whose recreational and industrial use is restricted.
- wilderness road — a 300-mile (500-km) route from eastern Virginia through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky, explored by Daniel Boone in 1769 and marked as a trail by him and other pioneers in 1775: a major route for early settlers moving west.
- winning gallery — a winning opening on the hazard side, below the penthouse and farthest from the dedans. Compare dedans (def 1), grille (def 5).
- winter holidays — a period of rest from work or studies taken in winter