17-letter words containing w, e, b, a
- learned borrowing — a word or other linguistic form borrowed from a classical language into a modern language.
- metabolic pathway — biochemistry: sequence of reactions within a cell or organism
- nashville warbler — a North American wood warbler, Vermivora ruficapilla, having a gray head, an olive-green back, and yellow underparts.
- nervous breakdown — (not in technical use) any disabling mental disorder requiring treatment.
- observation tower — lookout, observation point
- off one's own bat — If someone does something off their own bat, they do it without anyone else suggesting it.
- out at the elbows — the bend or joint of the human arm between upper arm and forearm.
- pebbleweave cloth — an irregularly textured material made from twisted yarn
- railway timetable — a list of railway journeys arranged according to the time when they begin and end
- rub the wrong way — to subject the surface of (a thing or person) to pressure and friction, as in cleaning, smoothing, polishing, coating, massaging, or soothing: to rub a table top with wax polish; to rub the entire back area.
- second balkan war — Balkan War (def 2).
- secondary rainbow — a faint rainbow formed by light rays that undergo two internal reflections in drops of rain, appearing above the primary rainbow and having its colors in the opposite order.
- september weather — weather characteristic of the month of September, esp in being unpredictable as summer is ending and autumn is beginning
- small waved umber — a brownish geometrid moth, Horisme vitalbata, that is cryptically marked to merge with tree bark
- squaw huckleberry — deerberry.
- strawberry blonde — woman: with reddish fair hair
- strawberry tomato — the small, edible, tomato-like fruit of the plant Physalis pruinosa, of the nightshade family.
- tanenbaum, andrew — Andrew Tanenbaum
- tennessee warbler — a North American wood warbler, Vermivora peregrina, having a gray head, a greenish back, and white underparts.
- the twelve tables — the earliest code of Roman civil, criminal, and religious law, promulgated in 451–450 bc
- the whole shebang — The whole shebang is the whole situation or business that you are describing.
- throat sweetbread — sweetbread (def 2).
- throw the book at — a handwritten or printed work of fiction or nonfiction, usually on sheets of paper fastened or bound together within covers.
- unlawful assembly — a meeting of three or more people with the intent of carrying out any unlawful purpose
- wang laboratories — (body) Computer manufacturer, known for their office automation products and the Wang PC. Quarterly sales $208M, profits $3M (Aug 1994).
- 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.
- wastepaper basket — a standing basket for wastepaper, small items of trash, etc.
- 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.
- 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.
- wedding breakfast — meal served at wedding reception
- welshman's button — an angler's name for a species of caddis fly, Sericostoma personatum
- westminster abbey — a Gothic church in London, England.
- what does sb know — You can use expressions such as What does she know? and What do they know? when you think that someone has no right to comment on a situation because they do not understand it.
- wheatstone bridge — a circuit for measuring an unknown resistance by comparing it with known resistances.
- with bated breath — to moderate or restrain: unable to bate our enthusiasm.
- work-life balance — a situation in which one divides or balances one's time between work and activities outside of work: It's hard to achieve a reasonable work-life balance when you run your own business.
- working substance — a substance, usually a fluid, that undergoes changes in pressure, temperature, volume, or form as part of a process for accomplishing work.
- zebra swallowtail — a swallowtail butterfly, Papilio marcellus, having black and greenish-white stripes on the wings.