15-letter words containing w, a, r
- the war-wounded — those people who have been injured or wounded by war
- the way forward — how to progress, what to do next
- the wherewithal — necessary funds, resources, or equipment (for something or to do something)
- the working man — working class people collectively
- the wrong track — the incorrect line of investigation, inquiry, etc
- thorndike's law — the principle that all learnt behaviour is regulated by rewards and punishments, proposed by Edward Lee Thorndike (1874–1949), US psychologist
- throw overboard — to reject or abandon
- to carry weight — If a person or their opinion carries weight, they are respected and are able to influence people.
- to draw a blank — If you draw a blank when you are looking for someone or something, you do not succeed in finding them.
- tobacco budworm — the larva of a noctuid moth, Heliothis virescens, that damages the buds and young leaves of tobacco.
- tomato hornworm — the larva of a hawk moth, Manduca quinquemaculata, having a black, hornlike structure at the rear, that feeds on the leaves of tomato, potato, and other plants of the nightshade family.
- towers of hanoi — (games) A classic computer science problem, invented by Edouard Lucas in 1883, often used as an example of recursion. "In the great temple at Benares, says he, beneath the dome which marks the centre of the world, rests a brass plate in which are fixed three diamond needles, each a cubit high and as thick as the body of a bee. On one of these needles, at the creation, God placed sixty-four discs of pure gold, the largest disc resting on the brass plate, and the others getting smaller and smaller up to the top one. This is the Tower of Bramah. Day and night unceasingly the priests transfer the discs from one diamond needle to another according to the fixed and immutable laws of Bramah, which require that the priest on duty must not move more than one disc at a time and that he must place this disc on a needle so that there is no smaller disc below it. When the sixty-four discs shall have been thus transferred from the needle on which at the creation God placed them to one of the other needles, tower, temple, and Brahmins alike will crumble into dust, and with a thunderclap the world will vanish." The recursive solution is: Solve for n-1 discs recursively, then move the remaining largest disc to the free needle. Note that there is also a non-recursive solution: On odd-numbered moves, move the smallest sized disk clockwise. On even-numbered moves, make the single other move which is possible.
- training wheels — a pair of small wheels attached one on each side of the rear wheel of a bicycle for stability while one is learning to ride.
- transfer window — the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other teams into their own
- transverse wave — a wave in which the direction of displacement is perpendicular to the direction of propagation, as a surface wave of water.
- travelling wave — a wave carrying energy away from its source
- trigger warning — a stated warning that the content of a text, video, etc., may upset or offend some people, especially those who have previously experienced a related trauma: a blog post with a trigger warning for rape.
- troubled waters — a confused or chaotic state of affairs: The situation was terrible, but like many politicians he was attracted by troubled waters.
- tweet you later — (on the Twitter website) goodbye; see you later
- twist one's arm — to combine, as two or more strands or threads, by winding together; intertwine.
- twitching trail — a logging road sufficiently developed to allow the hauling of logs along it by horse or tractor.
- two-star petrol — leaded petrol that has a low octane number; inferior leaded petrol
- unanswerability — the quality of not being answerable or contestable
- unseaworthiness — constructed, outfitted, manned, and in all respects fitted for a voyage at sea.
- upperclasswoman — An upperclasswoman is a junior or senior student in a high school, college, or university.
- upward mobility — movement from one social level to a higher one (upward mobility) or a lower one (downward mobility) as by changing jobs or marrying.
- upwardly mobile — See under vertical mobility (def 1).
- viewing gallery — an area in a building or outside for viewing an activity, the surrounding scenery, etc
- völkerwanderung — the migration of peoples, esp of Germanic and Slavic peoples into S and W Europe from 2nd to 11th centuries
- w.h. richardson — Henry Handel (Henrietta Richardson Robertson) 1870–1946, Australian novelist.
- waddesdon manor — a mansion near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire: built (1880–89) in the French style for the Rothschild family: noted for its furnishings and collections of porcelain and paintings
- wage bargaining — discussions between representatives of employees and employers in order to agree levels of pay
- wager of battle — (in medieval Britain) a pledge to do battle for a cause, esp to decide guilt or innocence by single combat
- walk (all) over — to defeat overwhelmingly
- walk-in traffic — The walk-in traffic of a store is the number of people who choose to visit it as they pass by.
- walloon brabant — a province of central Belgium, formed in 1995 from the S part of Brabant province: densely populated and intensively farmed, with large industrial centres. Pop: 360 717 (2004 est). Area: 1091 sq km (421 sq miles)
- wallpaper music — music that is pleasant but not interesting, so people do not pay much attention to it
- wallpaper paste — an adhesive used for attaching wallpaper to a surface
- walpurgis night — (especially in medieval German folklore) the evening preceding the feast day of St. Walpurgis, when witches congregated, especially on the Brocken.
- walrus mustache — a thick, shaggy mustache hanging down loosely at both ends.
- warmheartedness — The quality of being warmhearted.
- warrant officer — (in the U.S. Armed Forces) an officer of one of four grades ranking above enlisted personnel and below commissioned officers.
- warrantableness — Quality of being warrantable.
- wassermann test — a diagnostic test for syphilis using the fixation of a complement by the serum of a syphilitic individual.
- water authority — an official body which is responsible for providing water
- water pennywort — any of numerous perennial herbs of the genus Hydrocotyle, of the parsley family, having rounded leaves and living in water or marshy places.
- water pimpernel — the brookweed.
- water pollution — the pollution of the sea and rivers
- water treatment — the act or process of making water more potable or useful, as by purifying, clarifying, softening, or deodorizing it.
- water-based mud — Water-based mud is a type of drilling mud consisting mainly of water, which has additives to modify it and make it more effective.