16-letter words containing w, e, d
- old-girl network — an association among women that is comparable to or modeled on an old-boy network.
- on a world scale — in a way that involves the whole world
- on the bandwagon — on the popular or apparently winning side, as in an election
- on the downgrade — waning in importance, popularity, health, etc
- 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.
- overhead railway — elevated railroad.
- pearls of wisdom — good advice, wise words
- portmanteau word — a case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, especially a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves.
- pressure welding — the welding together of two objects by holding them together under pressure.
- private viewdata — an interactive video text system with restricted access
- projected window — a casement window in which the inner end of the sash slides along a track on the sill as the sash swings outward.
- 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.
- rear-wheel drive — a layout in motor vehicles which places the engine at the front and the driven wheels at the rear
- redbank whiteoak — a city in S Tennessee.
- regent bowerbird — a bowerbird, Sericulus chrysocephalus, the males of which have deep black plumage with brilliant golden head, neck, and wing patches and build elaborate bowers.
- reprocessed wool — wool cloth respun and rewoven from the raveled fibers of unused cloth, such as the waste or clippings from a garment factory
- robin goodfellow — Puck (def 1).
- rochelle powders — (not in technical use) Seidlitz powders.
- rolled paperwork — a form of decoration on small objects, such as boxes, in which a design is made up of tiny rolls of paper cut crossways and laid together: popular in the 18th and 19th centuries
- round the wrekin — the long way round
- 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).
- teutoburger wald — a chain of wooded hills in Germany, in Westphalia: Romans defeated by German tribes a.d.
- the here and now — the present time
- the war-disabled — those people who have been disabled by war
- the worried well — people who are healthy but are concerned about becoming ill and so take medication or see a medical practitioner when they don't need to
- the written word — writing rather than speaking
- this-worldliness — concern or preoccupation with worldly things and values.
- to draw the line — If you draw the line at a particular activity, you refuse to do it, because you disapprove of it or because it is more extreme than what you normally do.
- to wine and dine — If you wine and dine, or if someone wines and dines you, you go out, for example to expensive restaurants, and spend a lot of money.
- traded endowment — A traded endowment is a traditional with-profits endowment policy that has been sold to a new owner part way through its term.
- turn upside down — invert
- two-body problem — the problem of calculating the motions of two bodies in space moving solely under the influence of their mutual gravitational attraction.