14-letter words containing w, a, p, i
- preventive law — consultation, as between lawyer and client, to prevent future litigation by dispensing legal advice, clarifying the terms of a contract, etc.
- preventive war — an attack against a possible enemy to prevent an attack by that enemy at a later time.
- primary growth — growth in vascular plants, especially an increase in length, that results from cell division and differentiation of an apical meristem.
- profit warning — a public announcement made by a company to shareholders and others warning that profits for a stated period will be much lower than had been expected
- public welfare — state aid to the poor
- railway police — the branch of the police force specializing in maintaining law and order and detecting crime on the railways
- railway porter — a person employed to carry luggage, parcels, supplies, etc at a railway station
- reactive power — Reactive power is the part of complex power that corresponds to storage and retrieval of energy rather than consumption.
- residual power — power retained by a governmental authority after certain powers have been delegated to other authorities.
- rip van winkle — (in a story by Washington Irving) a ne'er-do-well who sleeps 20 years and upon waking is startled to find how much the world has changed.
- ruby-tail wasp — any of various brightly coloured wasps of the family Chrysididae, having a metallic sheen, which parasitize bees and other solitary wasps
- sandwich panel — a structural panel consisting of a core of one material enclosed between two sheets of a different material.
- sewing pattern — a guide or diagram that you follow to make clothes or other things using a needle and thread
- shrink-wrapped — A shrink-wrapped product is sold in a tight covering of thin plastic.
- skip-tooth saw — a saw with alternate teeth absent
- sparkling wine — a wine that is naturally carbonated by a second fermentation.
- swamp milkweed — a coarse milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, growing in swampy places from eastern North America to Colorado, having ball-like clusters of rose-purple flowers.
- telegraph wire — a wire that transmits telegraph and telephone signals
- the lower paid — people who do not earn a lot of money
- tripolitan war — a war (1801–05) that Tripoli declared on the United States because of American refusal to pay tribute for the safe passage of shipping in Barbary Coastal waters.
- unpraiseworthy — not worthy of praise
- waiting period — a specified delay, required by law, between officially stating an intention and acting on it, as between securing a marriage license and getting married.
- walking papers — notice of dismissal
- wall pellitory — pellitory (sense 1)
- walpurgisnacht — (especially in medieval German folklore) the evening preceding the feast day of St. Walpurgis, when witches congregated, especially on the Brocken.
- wappenschawing — a periodical muster or review of the men under arms in a particular lordship or district
- washing powder — Washing powder is a powder that you use with water to wash clothes.
- washington pie — a Boston cream pie with raspberry jam instead of custard between the layers.
- waste disposal — A waste disposal or a waste disposal unit is a small machine in a kitchen sink that chops up vegetable waste.
- water plantain — any of several marsh plants of the genus Alisma, esp A. plantago-aquatica, of N temperate regions and Australia, having clusters of small white or pinkish flowers and broad pointed leaves: family Alismataceae
- water purifier — a device that purifies water
- water sapphire — a transparent variety of cordierite, found in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and elsewhere, sometimes used as a gem.
- water scorpion — any of several predaceous aquatic bugs of the family Nepidae, having clasping front legs and a long respiratory tube at the rear of the abdomen: capable of biting if handled.
- watering place — British. a seaside or lakeside vacation resort featuring bathing, boating, etc.
- waxleaf privet — an evergreen shrub, Ligustrum japonicum, native to Japan and Korea, having leathery leaves and large clusters of small white flowers.
- webliographies — Plural form of webliography.
- well-appointed — attractively equipped, arranged, or furnished, especially for comfort or convenience: a well-appointed room.
- well-practiced — skilled or expert; proficient through practice or experience: a practiced hand at politics.
- well-practised — having or having been habitually or frequently practised in order to improve skill or quality
- wheel clamping — the practice of attaching wheel clamps to vehicles
- whiplash-curve — the lash of a whip.
- whippersnapper — an unimportant but offensively presumptuous person, especially a young one.
- whipping cream — cream with enough butterfat to allow it to be made into whipped cream.
- whirlpool bath — a bath in which the body is immersed in swirling water as therapy or for relaxation.
- white elephant — a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of: Our Victorian bric-a-brac and furniture were white elephants.
- white mariposa — a Mariposa lily, Calochortus venustus, having white or pale lilac flowers.
- white sapphire — a colorless variety of corundum, used as a gemstone.
- whitetip shark — Also called reef whitetip shark. a smooth dogfish, Triaenodon obseus, having white-tipped dorsal and caudal fins and occurring inshore among the reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans and the Red Sea.
- whooping crane — a white North American crane, Grus americana, having a loud, whooping call: an endangered species.
- wide-spreading — spreading over or covering a large area: wide-spreading showers; wide-spreading ivy.