15-letter words containing w, d, a
- 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
- titius-bode law — Bode's law.
- to draw a blank — If you draw a blank when you are looking for someone or something, you do not succeed in finding them.
- to lead the way — If you lead the way along a particular route, you go along it in front of someone in order to show them where to go.
- to sow gapeseed — to stare in a gaping manner instead of attending to business
- tobacco budworm — the larva of a noctuid moth, Heliothis virescens, that damages the buds and young leaves of tobacco.
- transfer window — the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other teams into their own
- troubled waters — a confused or chaotic state of affairs: The situation was terrible, but like many politicians he was attracted by troubled waters.
- two-dimensional — having the dimensions of height and width only: a two-dimensional surface.
- unknowledgeable — possessing or exhibiting knowledge, insight, or understanding; intelligent; well-informed; discerning; perceptive.
- 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).
- vatican swindle — Lafcadio's Adventures.
- venetian window — Palladian window.
- 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 indexation — the linking of wages to an index representing the cost of living, so that they are automatically adjusted up or down as that rises or falls
- walking holiday — a holiday on which you walk a lot, esp in the countryside
- walking wounded — casualties, as of a military conflict, who are wounded but ambulatory.
- warmheartedness — The quality of being warmhearted.
- 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.
- waterfall model — (programming) A software life-cycle or product life-cycle model, described by W. W. Royce in 1970, in which development is supposed to proceed linearly through the phases of requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing (validation), integration and maintenance. The Waterfall Model is considered old-fashioned or simplistic by proponents of object-oriented design which often uses the spiral model instead. Earlier phases are sometimes called "upstream" and later ones "downstream". Compare: iterative model.
- waterford glass — fine cut or gilded glass made in Waterford, Ireland, having a slight blue cast due to the presence of cobalt.
- wattle and daub — Also, wattle and dab. a building technique employing wattles plastered with clay and mud.
- weatherboarding — an early type of board used as a siding for a building.
- wedding banquet — a lavish meal served after a wedding ceremony
- wedding planner — sb hired to organize a marriage day
- weekend cottage — a cottage where people spend weekends
- weekend warrior — a reservist who attends weekend meetings of his or her unit in order to fulfill military obligations.
- well-accredited — officially recognized as meeting the essential requirements, as of academic excellence: accredited schools.
- well-accustomed — customary; usual; habitual: in their accustomed manner.
- well-acquainted — having personal knowledge as a result of study, experience, etc.; informed (usually followed by with): to be acquainted with law.
- well-advertised — to announce or praise (a product, service, etc.) in some public medium of communication in order to induce people to buy or use it: to advertise a new brand of toothpaste.
- well-cultivated — prepared and used for raising crops; tilled: cultivated land.
- well-delineated — to trace the outline of; sketch or trace in outline; represent pictorially: He delineated the state of Texas on the map with a red pencil.
- well-elaborated — worked out with great care and nicety of detail; executed with great minuteness: elaborate preparations; elaborate care. Synonyms: perfected, painstaking. Antonyms: simple.
- well-formulated — to express in precise form; state definitely or systematically: He finds it extremely difficult to formulate his new theory.
- well-integrated — combining or coordinating separate elements so as to provide a harmonious, interrelated whole: an integrated plot; an integrated course of study.
- well-maintained — to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain: to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.
- well-ventilated — to provide (a room, mine, etc.) with fresh air in place of air that has been used or contaminated.
- wheatgerm bread — bread made with wheat germ
- wheelchairbound — Confined to a wheelchair.
- whip-tailed ray — a whipray.
- white zinfandel — a medium-sweet rosé wine made from zinfandel grapes.
- wide-angle lens — A wide-angle lens is a lens which allows you to photograph a wider view than a normal lens.
- wiener neustadt — a city in E Austria, in Lower Austria. Pop: 37 627 (2002)
- wild and woolly — unrestrained; lawless: a wild-and-woolly frontier town.
- wild strawberry — uncultivated plant bearing red fruit