17-letter words containing w, a, r, i, e, s
- sanitation worker — a person employed to collect, haul away, and dispose of garbage.
- secondary rainbow — a faint rainbow formed by light rays that undergo two internal reflections in drops of rain, appearing above the primary rainbow and having its colors in the opposite order.
- secondary winding — A secondary winding is the winding of a transformer that receives its energy by electromagnetic induction from the primary winding.
- sidesaddle flower — a pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea.
- sino-japanese war — the war (1894–95) between China and Japan over the control of Korea that resulted in the nominal independence of Korea and the Chinese cession to Japan of Formosa and the Pescadores.
- slap on the wrist — a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
- social networking — the development of social and professional contacts; the sharing of information and services among people with a common interest.
- software engineer — a person who writes computer programs
- south west africa — a former name of Namibia.
- south-west africa — a former name of Namibia.
- spaghetti western — a low-budget western movie shot in Italy or Spain, usually with Italian actors and an American star.
- spiny-headed worm — any of a small group of endoparasites of the phylum Acanthocephala, as larvae parasitic in insects and crustaceans and as adults in various vertebrates.
- spread your wings — if you spread your wings, you do something new and rather difficult or move to a new place, because you feel more confident in your abilities than you used to and you want to gain wider experience
- spring cankerworm — the striped, green caterpillar of any of several geometrid moths: a foliage pest of various fruit and shade trees, as Paleacrita vernata (spring cankerworm) and Alsophila pometaria (fall cankerworm)
- straw in the wind — If you say that an incident or piece of news is a straw in the wind, you mean that it gives an indication of what might happen in the future.
- teaching software — computer software for use in providing online education
- the lower animals — relatively simple or primitive animals and not mammals or vertebrates
- the winter season — the season of the year that covers the winter months
- thirty years' war — the war, often regarded as a series of wars (1618–48), in central Europe, initially involving a conflict between German Protestants and Catholics and later including political rivalries with France, Sweden, and Denmark opposing the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.
- three-strikes law — a law that mandates a life sentence to a felon convicted for the third time.
- tiger swallowtail — a yellow swallowtail butterfly, Papilio glaucus, of eastern North America, having the forewings striped with black.
- twelve patriarchs — any of the sons of Jacob ((the twelve patriarchs),) from whom the tribes of Israel were descended.
- wage-price spiral — a situation in which wage and price increases drive each other upward and cause inflation
- waist measurement — a measure of the circumference of the narrowest part of a person's waist
- wang laboratories — (body) Computer manufacturer, known for their office automation products and the Wang PC. Quarterly sales $208M, profits $3M (Aug 1994).
- war establishment — the full wartime complement of men, equipment, and vehicles of a military unit
- wardrobe mistress — a woman in charge of keeping theatrical costumes cleaned, pressed, and in wearable condition.
- warehouse receipt — a receipt for goods placed in a warehouse.
- warehousing costs — the costs involved in storing goods in a warehouse
- warm-up exercises — preparatory exercises done to warm up the muscles
- warsaw convention — a multilateral treaty on aviation set up chiefly to limit air carriers' liability to passengers and shippers on international flights in the event of an accident.
- washington square — a short novel (1881) by Henry James.
- weapons inspector — a person who inspects a country's weapons
- weather satellite — meteorological satellite.
- weather-resistant — resisting the effects of severe weather, as rain or cold: weather-resistant cloth for topcoats.
- wedding breakfast — meal served at wedding reception
- weeping lovegrass — any grass of the genus Eragrostis, as E. curvula (weeping lovegrass) and E. trichodes (sand lovegrass) cultivated as forage and ground cover.
- welfare economics — a branch of economics concerned with improving human welfare and social conditions chiefly through the optimum distribution of wealth, the relief or reduction of unemployment, etc.
- western australia — a state in W Australia. 975,920 sq. mi. (2,527,635 sq. km). Capital: Perth.
- westminster abbey — a Gothic church in London, England.
- wheatstone bridge — a circuit for measuring an unknown resistance by comparing it with known resistances.
- william shoemaker — William Lee ("Willie") 1931–2003, U.S. jockey.
- williams syndrome — an abnormality in the genes involved in calcium metabolism, resulting in learning difficulties
- 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.
- winding staircase — long set of spiral stairs
- 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
- wireless operator — a radio operator
- wood preservative — a coating applied to timber as a protection against decay, insects, weather, etc
- working substance — a substance, usually a fluid, that undergoes changes in pressure, temperature, volume, or form as part of a process for accomplishing work.
- 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.