16-letter words containing w, a, n
- not worth a shit — useless, valueless, etc.
- nuncupative will — a will made by the oral and unwritten declaration of the testator, valid only in special circumstances.
- observation ward — a ward in a hospital where patients are monitored
- of it own accord — If something happens of its own accord, it seems to happen by itself, without anyone making it happen.
- 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 war footing — If a country or armed force is on a war footing, it is ready to fight a war.
- on a world scale — in a way that involves the whole world
- on the bandwagon — on the popular or apparently winning side, as in an election
- on the downgrade — waning in importance, popularity, health, etc
- one with another — on average
- one-way function — (cryptography, mathematics) A function which is easy to compute but whose inverse is very difficult to compute. Such functions have important applications in cryptography, specifically in public-key cryptography. See also: trapdoor function.
- 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.
- papua new guinea — an independent republic in the W Pacific Ocean, comprising the E part of New Guinea and numerous near-lying islands, including the Bismarck Archipelago, the Admiralty Islands, the Trobriand Islands, and Bougainville and Buka in the Solomon Islands: a former Australian Trusteeship Territory; independent since 1975; member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 178,260 sq. mi. (461,693 sq. km). Capital: Port Moresby.
- portmanteau word — a case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, especially a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves.
- proposal writing — Extension of Fortran for proposal writing.
- purchasing power — Also called buying power. the ability to purchase goods and services.
- put a foot wrong — to make a mistake
- 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 lorikeet — a small Australasian parrot, Trichoglossus haematodus, with brightly-coloured plumage
- 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.
- rattlesnake weed — a hawkweed, Hieracium venosum, of eastern North America, whose leaves and root are thought to possess medicinal properties.
- redbank whiteoak — a city in S Tennessee.
- regional network — mid-level network
- renewable energy — any naturally occurring, theoretically inexhaustible source of energy, as biomass, solar, wind, tidal, wave, and hydroelectric power, that is not derived from fossil or nuclear fuel.
- rotary lawnmower — a lawn mower with a single blade attached in the middle that rotates as the mower is moved
- sandwich islands — the Hawaiian Islands
- savannah sparrow — a North American sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis, having brown and white plumage with a yellow stripe over each eye.
- sawn-off shotgun — A sawn-off shotgun is a shotgun on which the barrel has been cut short. Guns like this are often used by criminals because they can be easily hidden.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- shorthand writer — a person trained to write in shorthand
- sir isaac newton — Sir Isaac, 1642–1727, English philosopher and mathematician: formulator of the law of gravitation.
- social darwinism — a 19th-century theory, inspired by Darwinism, by which the social order is accounted as the product of natural selection of those persons best suited to existing living conditions and in accord with which a position of laissez-faire is advocated.
- soft brown sugar — a type of moist sugar made by coating white sugar with dark molasses
- spanish windlass — a stick used as a device for twisting and tightening a rope or cable
- spit-and-sawdust — (of a pub) shabby, dirty, and basic
- spring snowflake — a European amaryllidaceous plant, Leucojum vernum, with white nodding bell-shaped flowers
- strawberry blond — reddish blond.
- subsistence wage — the lowest wage upon which a worker and his or her family can survive
- swamp buttonwood — the buttonbush.
- 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.