16-letter words containing w, e, d, s
- in the shadow of — very close to; verging upon
- indian wrestling — arm wrestling
- industrial waste — waste materials left over from a manufacturing process in industrial buildings such as factories and mines
- invisible shadow — (in architectural shades and shadows) a three-dimensional space occupied by the shadow projected by a solid and within which a surface is in shadow.
- kawasaki disease — an acute illness of unknown cause, occurring primarily in children, characterized by high fever, swollen lymph glands, rash, redness in mouth and throat, and joint pain.
- keep under wraps — not reveal
- knuckle sandwich — a punch in the mouth with a clenched fist.
- lewis and harris — the northernmost island of the Hebrides, in NW Scotland. 825 sq. mi. (2135 sq. km).
- lord howe island — an island in the S Pacific, E of Australia: a dependency of New South Wales. 5 sq. mi. (13 sq. km).
- man of few words — man who speaks very little
- matthew flinders — Matthew, 1774–1814, English navigator and explorer: surveyed coast of Australia.
- measured daywork — a system of wage payment, usually determined by work-study techniques, whereby the wage of an employee is fixed on the understanding that a specific level of work performance will be maintained
- middle westerner — the region of the United States bounded on the W by the Rocky Mountains, on the S by the Ohio River and the S extremities of Missouri and Kansas, and on the E, variously, by the Allegheny Mountains, the E border of Ohio, or the E border of Illinois.
- monkey's wedding — a combination of sunshine and light rain
- most wanted list — an actual or supposed listing of the names of persons who are urgently being sought for a specific reason, as apprehension for an alleged crime.
- muddy the waters — If someone or something muddies the waters, they cause a situation or issue to seem less clear and less easy to understand.
- narrowmindedness — Alternative spelling of narrow-mindedness.
- network database — (database) A kind of database management system in which each record type can have multiple owners, e.g. orders are owned by both customers and products. This contrasts with a hierarchical database (one owner) or relational database (no explicit owner).
- new year's (day) — Jan. 1, the first day of a calendar year, usually celebrated as a legal holiday
- nine-days wonder — something that arouses great interest, but only for a short period
- observation ward — a ward in a hospital where patients are monitored
- on a world scale — in a way that involves the whole world
- otherworldliness — The quality of being otherworldly.
- out of the woods — the hard, fibrous substance composing most of the stem and branches of a tree or shrub, and lying beneath the bark; the xylem.
- pearls of wisdom — good advice, wise words
- pressure welding — the welding together of two objects by holding them together under pressure.
- put to the sword — to kill with a sword or swords
- rattlesnake weed — a hawkweed, Hieracium venosum, of eastern North America, whose leaves and root are thought to possess medicinal properties.
- reprocessed wool — wool cloth respun and rewoven from the raveled fibers of unused cloth, such as the waste or clippings from a garment factory
- rochelle powders — (not in technical use) Seidlitz powders.
- schweizerdeutsch — Schwyzertütsch.
- seaside knotweed — See under knotweed.
- second world war — World War II.
- secondary growth — an increase in the thickness of the shoots and roots of a vascular plant as a result of the formation of new cells in the cambium.
- seidlitz powders — a mild laxative consisting of tartaric acid, sodium bicarbonate, and Rochelle salt, which are dissolved separately, mixed, and drunk after effervescence.
- seward peninsula — a peninsula in W Alaska, on Bering Strait.
- shakedown cruise — extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.
- shared ownership — (in Britain) a form of house purchase whereby the purchaser buys a proportion of the dwelling, usually from a local authority or housing association, and rents the rest
- shorthand writer — a person trained to write in shorthand
- show cause order — a court order issued to a party in a lawsuit, directing that party to appear to give reasons why a certain action should not be put into effect by the court.
- show-me attitude — a sceptical frame of mind
- smokeless powder — any of various substitutes for ordinary gunpowder that give off little or no smoke, especially one composed wholly or mostly of guncotton.
- speed networking — the practice of trying to form business connections and contacts through meetings at which individuals are given the opportunity to have several conversations of limited duration with strangers
- strawberry blond — reddish blond.
- swedenborgianism — of or relating to Emanuel Swedenborg, his religious doctrines, or the body of followers adhering to these doctrines and constituting the Church of the New Jerusalem, or New Church.
- swedish vallhund — a small sturdy dog of a Swedish breed with a long body and pricked pointed ears
- sweet almond oil — almond oil (def 1).
- the war-disabled — those people who have been disabled by war
- this-worldliness — concern or preoccupation with worldly things and values.
- turn upside down — invert