17-letter words containing w, a, r, e, h
- to show your face — If you show your face somewhere, you go there and see people, although you are not welcome, are rather unwilling to go, or have not been there for some time.
- to test the water — If you test the water or test the waters, you try to find out what reaction an action or idea will get before you do it or tell it to people.
- to throw a wrench — If someone throws a wrench or throws a monkey wrench into a process, they prevent something happening smoothly by deliberately causing a problem.
- touch a raw nerve — If you say that you have touched a nerve or touched a raw nerve, you mean that you have accidentally upset someone by talking about something that they feel strongly about or are very sensitive about.
- twelve patriarchs — any of the sons of Jacob ((the twelve patriarchs),) from whom the tribes of Israel were descended.
- under the weather — the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.
- wall street crash — the dramatic collapse of share prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929, an important factor in the early stages of the Depression
- walleye surfperch — a common black and silvery surfperch (Hyperprosopon argenteum) found off the coast of California
- war establishment — the full wartime complement of men, equipment, and vehicles of a military unit
- warehouse receipt — a receipt for goods placed in a warehouse.
- warehousing costs — the costs involved in storing goods in a warehouse
- wars of the roses — the civil struggle between the royal house of Lancaster, whose emblem was a red rose, and the royal house of York, whose emblem was a white rose, beginning in 1455 and ending with the accession of Henry VII in 1485 and the union of the two houses.
- washington square — a short novel (1881) by Henry James.
- water on the knee — an accumulation of fluid in the knee cavity caused by inflammation and trauma to the cartilages or membranes of the knee joint.
- wear the trousers — to have control, esp in a marriage
- weather satellite — meteorological satellite.
- weather-resistant — resisting the effects of severe weather, as rain or cold: weather-resistant cloth for topcoats.
- well-photographed — a picture produced by photography.
- wheatstone bridge — a circuit for measuring an unknown resistance by comparing it with known resistances.
- white-tailed deer — a common North American deer, Odocoileus virginianus, having a tail with a white underside.
- whiter than white — extremely clean and white
- william shoemaker — William Lee ("Willie") 1931–2003, U.S. jockey.
- willow flycatcher — a North American flycatcher, Empidonax alnorum, of alder thickets and other moist areas, that has greenish-brown upper parts and whitish underparts and is almost indistinguishable except by voice from E. traillii (willow flycatcher)
- wimshurst machine — a device for the production of electric charge by electrostatic induction, consisting of two oppositely rotating glass or mica disks carrying metal strips upon which charges are induced and subsequently removed by contact with metallic combs.
- windscreen washer — a small nozzle on the bonnet of a motor vehicle, from which jets of water are squirted electronically onto the windscreen to help clean it
- with a difference — If you describe a job or holiday, for example, as a job with a difference or a holiday with a difference, you mean that the job or holiday is very interesting and unusual.
- with bated breath — to moderate or restrain: unable to bate our enthusiasm.
- with half a heart — halfheartedly
- withdrawal method — a method of contraception in which the man withdraws his penis from the woman's vagina before ejaculation
- without regard to — with no concern for
- woman of the hour — a woman honored by a group.
- wring one's hands — If someone wrings their hands, they hold them together and twist and turn them, usually because they are very worried or upset about something. You can also say that someone is wringing their hands when they are expressing sorrow that a situation is so bad but are saying that they are unable to change it.