12-letter words containing w, a
- stomach worm — a nematode, Haemonchus contortus, parasitic in the stomach of sheep, cattle, and related animals.
- stone-washed — Stone-washed jeans are jeans which have been specially washed with small pieces of stone so that when you buy them they are fairly pale and soft.
- stonewalling — the act of stalling, evading, or filibustering, especially to avoid revealing politically embarrassing information.
- storage wall — a set of shelves, cabinets, or the like that covers or forms a wall.
- straightaway — straight onward, without turn or curve, as a racecourse.
- straightways — in a direct course
- straw yellow — a pale yellow; straw color.
- streetwalker — a prostitute who solicits on the streets.
- subway train — a train that runs on an underground railway
- sunshine law — a law requiring a government agency to open its official meetings and records to the general public.
- superhighway — a highway designed for travel at high speeds, having more than one lane for each direction of traffic, a safety strip dividing the two directions, and cloverleaves to route the traffic on and off the highway. Compare expressway.
- surface wave — a seismic wave that travels along or parallel to the earth's surface (distinguished from body wave).
- swagger coat — a woman's pyramid-shaped coat with a full flared back and usually raglan sleeves, first popularized in the 1930s.
- swainishness — loutishness
- swallow dive — swan dive.
- swamp azalea — an azalea, Rhododendron viscosum, of the eastern U.S., having fragrant, white to pink or sometimes red flowers.
- swamp locust — water locust.
- swamp mallow — a rose mallow, Hibiscus moscheutos.
- swamp rabbit — any of several southern cottontails, especially Sylvilagus aquaticus, of swamps and lowlands.
- swap trading — a contract in which the parties to it exchange liabilities on outstanding debts in trading
- swash letter — an ornamental italic capital letter having a flourish extending beyond the body of the type.
- swashbuckler — a swaggering swordsman, soldier, or adventurer; daredevil.
- sweat equity — unreimbursed labor that results in the increased value of property or that is invested to establish or expand an enterprise.
- sweat glands — one of the minute, coiled, tubular glands of the skin that secrete sweat.
- sweat it out — wait tensely
- sweater girl — a young woman with a shapely bosom, especially one who wears tight sweaters.
- sweaterdress — a knitted, woollen dress
- sweet almond — the nutlike kernel of the fruit of either of two trees, Prunus dulcis (sweet almond) or P. dulcis amara (bitter almond) which grow in warm temperate regions.
- sweet dreams — sleep well
- sweet marten — the European pine marten, Martes martes : trapped for its fur and now greatly reduced in number.
- sweet orange — a globose, reddish-yellow, bitter or sweet, edible citrus fruit.
- sweet potato — a plant, Ipomoea batatas, of the morning glory family, grown for its sweet, edible, tuberous roots.
- swell-headed — a vain or arrogant person.
- swelled head — an inordinately grand opinion of oneself; conceit.
- swim bladder — air bladder (def 2).
- swimming cap — A swimming cap is a rubber cap which you wear to keep your hair dry when you are swimming.
- swine plague — hemorrhagic septicemia of hogs, caused by the bacterium Pasteurella suiseptica, characterized by an accompanying infection of pneumonia.
- swiss guards — a corps of Swiss mercenary soldiers, esp. those hired as Vatican bodyguards to the pope
- swiss-german — of or relating to a person from German-speaking Switzerland
- switch grass — a North American grass, Panicum virgatum, having an open, branching inflorescence.
- switch plate — a plate, usually of metal, ceramic, or plastic, covering a switch so that the knob or toggle protrudes.
- swivel chair — a chair whose seat turns around horizontally on a swivel.
- sword-bearer — an official who carries the sword of state on ceremonial occasions, as before the sovereign, a magistrate, or the like.
- tack welding — to join (pieces of metal) with a number of small welds spaced some distance apart.
- take a whizz — to urinate
- take to wife — to marry (a woman)
- take up with — to get into one's hold or possession by voluntary action: to take a cigarette out of a box; to take a pen and begin to write.
- talk down to — to communicate or exchange ideas, information, etc., by speaking: to talk about poetry.
- tapioca snow — snow pellets.
- team up with — join forces with