18-letter words containing w, a, r
- two-tier financing — a form of lending in which the debt is divided into two separate parts, as in a first and second mortgage held by an individual on a single property
- ultralow frequency — an electromagnetic wave with a frequency between 300 and 3000 hertz. Abbreviation: ULF, ulf.
- ultrasonic welding — the use of high-energy vibration of ultrasonic frequency to produce a weld between two components which are held in close contact
- vicar of wakefield — a novel (1766) by Goldsmith.
- wage determination — the process of setting wage rates or establishing wage structures in particular situations
- wandering minstrel — travelling performer
- war risk insurance — life insurance for members of the armed forces.
- wardrobe assistant — a person who assists the wardrobe mistress in a theatre
- warehouse capacity — the amount of storage space in a warehouse
- warning coloration — a bold, distinctive pattern of color characteristic of a poisonous or unpalatable organism, as the skunk or the monarch butterfly, that functions as a warning to and defense against predators.
- warrant of fitness — a six-monthly certificate required for motor vehicles certifying mechanical soundness
- water of hydration — the portion of a hydrate that is represented as, or can be expelled as, water: now usually regarded as being in true molecular combination with the other atoms of the compound, and not existing in the compound as water.
- water on the brain — hydrocephalus.
- water stick insect — a slender sticklike flightless water bug, Ranatra linearis, that is predatory on small creatures such as water fleas
- watson-crick model — a widely accepted model for the three-dimensional structure of DNA, featuring a double-helix configuration for the molecule's two hydrogen-bonded complementary polynucleotide strands.
- wave of the future — a trend or development that may influence or become a significant part of the future: Computerization is the wave of the future.
- weak nuclear force — weak interaction
- weather forecaster — meteorologist
- weberian apparatus — (in certain fishes) a chain of small bones and ligaments connecting the inner ear with the air bladder.
- welwyn garden city — a town in SE England, in Hertfordshire: established (1920) as a planned industrial and residential community. Pop: 43 512 (2001)
- wernicke's aphasia — a type of aphasia caused by a lesion in Wernicke's area of the brain and characterized by grammatical but more or less meaningless speech and an apparent inability to comprehend speech.
- west-northwestward — moving, bearing, facing, or situated toward the west-northwest.
- west-southwestward — moving, bearing, facing, or situated toward the west-southwest.
- western alienation — a feeling of resentment by some inhabitants of western Canada against perceived favouritism by the national government towards the eastern provinces
- western meadowlark — any of several American songbirds of the genus Sturnella, of the family Icteridae, especially S. magna (eastern meadowlark) and S. neglecta (western meadowlark) having a brownish and black back and wings and a yellow breast, noted for their clear, tuneful song.
- westinghouse brake — a railroad air brake operated by compressed air.
- wheelchair housing — housing designed or adapted for a chairbound person
- whispering gallery — a space or gallery beneath a dome or broad arch in which low sounds produced at any of certain points are clearly audible at certain other distant points.
- white man's burden — the alleged duty of white colonizers to care for nonwhite indigenous subjects in their colonial possessions.
- white-collar crime — any of various crimes, as embezzlement, fraud, or stealing office equipment, committed by business or professional people while working at their occupations.
- white-faced hornet — any large, stinging paper wasp of the family Vespidae, as Vespa crabro (giant hornet) introduced into the U.S. from Europe, or Vespula maculata (bald-faced hornet or white-faced hornet) of North America.
- whitewater rafting — the sport of rafting down fast-flowing rivers, esp over rapids
- whittaker chambers — Robert, 1802–71, Scottish publisher and editor.
- wild passionflower — the maypop, Passiflora incarnata.
- wildlife programme — (esp on television) a documentary whose subject is wild animals in their natural habitat or undomesticated fauna and flora generally
- wildlife sanctuary — an area where wild animals and plants are protected
- wilson's phalarope — a phalarope, Phalaropus tricolor, that breeds in the prairie regions of North America and winters in Argentina and Chile.
- wingback formation — single wingback formation.
- winged everlasting — a bushy composite plant, Ammobium alatum, of Australia, having winged branches, javelin-shaped leaves, and white flowers.
- withdrawal symptom — effects of stopping a drug
- woman of the world — a woman experienced and sophisticated in the ways and manners of the world, especially the world of society.
- women at point sur — a narrative poem (1927) by Robinson Jeffers.
- women's liberation — a movement to combat sexual discrimination and to gain full legal, economic, vocational, educational, and social rights and opportunities for women, equal to those of men.
- work one's ass off — work extremely hard
- work-study program — a program enabling high-school or college students to combine academic work with actual job experience.
- world championship — an international competition in a particular sport or activity for people all around the world
- world trade center — New York: business district
- wpa pre-shared key — Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key
- wrangell mountains — a mountain range in SE Alaska, extending into the Yukon, Canada. Highest peak: Mount Blackburn, 5037 m (16 523 ft)
- writ of assistance — a writ issued by a superior colonial court authorizing officers of the British crown to summon aid and enter and search any premises.