17-letter words containing w, a, t, e, r
- 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.
- two-toed anteater — silky anteater.
- under the weather — the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.
- wage differential — the difference in wages between workers with different skills in the same industry or between those with comparable skills in different industries or localities
- waist measurement — a measure of the circumference of the narrowest part of a person's waist
- walk-in apartment — a ground-floor apartment having a private entrance directly from the street, rather than through a hallway of the building.
- 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
- wang laboratories — (body) Computer manufacturer, known for their office automation products and the Wang PC. Quarterly sales $208M, profits $3M (Aug 1994).
- war correspondent — a reporter or commentator assigned to send news or opinions directly from battle areas.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- wastepaper basket — a standing basket for wastepaper, small items of trash, etc.
- water lily family — the plant family Nymphaeaceae, characterized by aquatic herbaceous plants having usually broad leaves, solitary, often showy flowers, and fruit in a variety of forms, and including the lotus (genus Nelumbo), spatterdock, water lily, and water shield.
- 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.
- water tube boiler — a boiler for generating steam by passing water in tubes (water tubes) through flames and hot gases.
- water-tube boiler — a boiler for generating steam by passing water in tubes (water tubes) through flames and hot gases.
- wave-cut platform — a flat surface at the base of a cliff formed by erosion by waves
- weapons inspector — a person who inspects a country's weapons
- wear the trousers — to have control, esp in a marriage
- wearable computer — a small computer that is worn or carried on the body; a wearable computing device: a wrist-worn wearable computer with a head-mounted display.
- 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
- well-demonstrated — to make evident or establish by arguments or reasoning; prove: to demonstrate a philosophical principle.
- well-photographed — a picture produced by photography.
- western australia — a state in W Australia. 975,920 sq. mi. (2,527,635 sq. km). Capital: Perth.
- western red cedar — an arborvitae, Thuja plicata, of western North America, grown as an ornamental.
- westminster abbey — a Gothic church in London, England.
- weston-super-mare — a town and resort in SW England, in North Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, on the Bristol Channel. Pop: 78 044 (2001)
- 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
- wide area network — a computer network that spans a relatively large geographical area.
- wide-area network — a computer network that spans a relatively large geographical area.
- 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.
- winding staircase — long set of spiral stairs
- wire entanglement — a barbed-wire obstacle, usually mounted on posts and zigzagged back and forth along a front, designed to channel, delay, or halt an advance by enemy foot soldiers.
- wireless operator — a radio operator
- 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