16-letter words containing w, a, n
- knowledgeability — possessing or exhibiting knowledge, insight, or understanding; intelligent; well-informed; discerning; perceptive.
- knuckle sandwich — a punch in the mouth with a clenched fist.
- kondratieff wave — a long business cycle of economic expansion and contraction, postulated to last about 60 years.
- law of exponents — the theorem stating the elementary properties of exponents, as the property that the product of the same bases, each raised to an exponent, is equal to the base raised to the sum of the exponents: xa ⋅ xb = xa + b .
- law of parsimony — a principle according to which an explanation of a thing or event is made with the fewest possible assumptions.
- lawson criterion — (in a hypothetical nuclear fusion reactor) the requirement that in order for the energy produced by fusion to exceed the energy expended in causing the fusion, the product of the density of the fuel and the time during which it is confined at that density (Lawson product) must be greater than a certain number that depends on the kind of fuel used.
- lay down the law — the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision.
- leave well alone — to refrain from interfering with something that is satisfactory
- lewis and harris — the northernmost island of the Hebrides, in NW Scotland. 825 sq. mi. (2135 sq. km).
- little brown bat — any of several small to medium-sized common bats of the genera Myotis and Eptesicus, found worldwide in caves, trees, and buildings, including M. lucifugus (little brown bat) and E. fuscus (big brown bat) a widespread North American species.
- long-wire aerial — a travelling-wave aerial consisting of one or more conductors, the length of which usually exceeds several wavelengths
- look up and down — to search everywhere
- lord howe island — an island in the S Pacific, E of Australia: a dependency of New South Wales. 5 sq. mi. (13 sq. km).
- low-carbon steel — steel containing between 0.04 and 0.25 per cent carbon
- lower california — Baja California.
- lower palatinate — See under Palatinate (def 1).
- machine washable — suitable for washing in a washing machine
- mackinaw blanket — a thick woolen blanket, often woven with bars of color, formerly used in the northern and western U.S. by Indians, loggers, etc.
- magnolia warbler — a black and yellow wood warbler, Dendroica magnolia, of North America.
- maintenance crew — a group of people who work together to keep a road, building, vehicle, or machine in good condition by regularly checking it and repairing it when necessary
- man of few words — man who speaks very little
- man of the world — a man who is widely experienced in the ways of the world and people; an urbane, sophisticated man.
- matthew flinders — Matthew, 1774–1814, English navigator and explorer: surveyed coast of Australia.
- mauchly, john w. — John Mauchly
- minerva software — A company producing software for the Acorn Archimedes.
- monkey-faced owl — barn owl.
- 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.
- mount washington — a mountain in N New Hampshire, in the White Mountains: the highest peak in the northeast US; noted for extreme weather conditions. Height: 1917 m (6288 ft)
- mountain dogwood — a dogwood tree, Cornus nuttallii, of western North America, having pointed, petallike white or pinkish bracts and clustered scarlet fruits.
- multi-way branch — switch statement
- narrowmindedness — Alternative spelling of narrow-mindedness.
- 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.
- network database — (database) A kind of database management system in which each record type can have multiple owners, e.g. orders are owned by both customers and products. This contrasts with a hierarchical database (one owner) or relational database (no explicit owner).
- network operator — (job) A person who monitors and maintains the operation of a communications network. A network operator troubleshoots hardware (cables, routers, network switches, hubs, network adaptors), software, and transmission problems.
- 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
- new frontiersman — an advocate or follower of the New Frontier, especially one in public service.
- new haven colony — a settlement founded in 1638 by John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton at Quinnipiac (now New Haven, Conn.).
- new jack (swing) — a style of rhythm-and-blues music blending rap, disco, funk, soul, etc. and characterized by aggressive, boastful, romantic lyrics
- new orleans jazz — the jazz originating in New Orleans from about 1914; traditional jazz
- new philadelphia — a city in E Ohio.
- new smyrna beach — a town in NE Florida.
- new year's (day) — Jan. 1, the first day of a calendar year, usually celebrated as a legal holiday
- newry and mourne — a district of SE Northern Ireland, in Co Down. Pop: 89 644 (2003 est). Area: 909 sq km (351 sq miles)
- newspaper office — an office where the editorial and production staff of a newspaper work
- newspaper report — a report published in a newspaper
- nightingale ward — a long hospital ward with beds on either side and the nurses' station in the middle
- nine-days wonder — something that arouses great interest, but only for a short period
- no-win situation — choice between negative outcomes
- norwegian buhund — a slightly-built medium-sized dog of a breed with erect pointed ears and a short thick tail carried curled over its back
- not worth a damn — worthless