16-letter words containing w, e, r, o
- geothermal power — power generated using steam produced by heat emanating from the molten core of the earth
- get on your wick — If you say that someone or something gets on your wick, you mean that they annoy and irritate you.
- go with the turf — to be an unavoidable part of a particular situation or process
- great horned owl — a large, brown-speckled owl, Bubo virginianus, common in the Western Hemisphere, having prominent ear tufts.
- green woodpecker — a woodpecker, Picus viridis, of Eurasia and northern Africa, having green plumage with a yellow rump and red on the top of the head.
- gregory's powder — a formulation of rhubarb powder used as a laxative or purgative
- growth potential — capability of expanding
- growth substance — any substance, produced naturally by a plant or manufactured commercially, that, in very low concentrations, affects plant growth; a plant hormone
- gum up the works — exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil.
- hairy woodpecker — a North American woodpecker, Picoides villosus, resembling but larger than the downy woodpecker.
- hanging wardrobe — a wardrobe containing a rail with a large amount of space underneath, so that clothes can be hung on hangers placed onto the rail
- hard-packed snow — snow which becomes very firmly packed as it becomes refrozen due to cold weather conditions rather than melting
- have a word with — discuss
- hawthorne effect — a positive change in the performance of a group of persons taking part in an experiment or study due to their perception of being singled out for special consideration.
- here we go again — You use expressions such as 'here we go' and 'here we go again' in order to indicate that something is happening again in the way that you expected, especially something unpleasant.
- hookworm disease — any of certain bloodsucking nematode worms, as Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus, parasitic in the intestine of humans and other animals.
- hopfield network — (artificial intelligence) (Or "Hopfield model") A kind of neural network investigated by John Hopfield in the early 1980s. The Hopfield network has no special input or output neurons (see McCulloch-Pitts), but all are both input and output, and all are connected to all others in both directions (with equal weights in the two directions). Input is applied simultaneously to all neurons which then output to each other and the process continues until a stable state is reached, which represents the network output.
- hot-water bottle — a bag, usually of rubber, for holding hot water to apply warmth to some part of the body, as the feet.
- house of worship — house of God.
- imperfect flower — a unisexual flower with only stamens or only pistils
- in the worst way — bad or ill in the highest, greatest, or most extreme degree: the worst person.
- in working order — fully functioning
- in your own time — If you do something in your own time, you do it at the speed that you choose, rather than allowing anyone to hurry you.
- jailhouse lawyer — a prisoner who has taught himself or herself law while serving time, is knowledgeable about technical legal matters, and gives legal advice, especially to fellow prisoners.
- javelin throwing — the sport of throwing the javelin
- jeweller's rouge — a finely powdered form of ferric oxide used as a metal polish
- john wheelwright — John, 1592?–1679, English clergyman in America.
- junior flyweight — a boxer weighing up to 108 pounds (48.6 kg), between minimumweight and flyweight.
- keynote software — A company which offers software-based business contact directories for people who develop, manufacture, market, or distribute software or multimedia products. E-mail: <[email protected]> (Subject: SEND INDEX).
- keyword indexing — the process of constructing or compiling an index to a document or other item by using keywords that describe the item.
- knowledge worker — a person employed to produce or analyse ideas and information
- kondratieff wave — a long business cycle of economic expansion and contraction, postulated to last about 60 years.
- lawson criterion — (in a hypothetical nuclear fusion reactor) the requirement that in order for the energy produced by fusion to exceed the energy expended in causing the fusion, the product of the density of the fuel and the time during which it is confined at that density (Lawson product) must be greater than a certain number that depends on the kind of fuel used.
- lesser spearwort — a Eurasian ranunculaceous plant, R. flammula, of the genus Ranunculus, which grows in wet places and has long narrow leaves and yellow flowers
- little brown bat — any of several small to medium-sized common bats of the genera Myotis and Eptesicus, found worldwide in caves, trees, and buildings, including M. lucifugus (little brown bat) and E. fuscus (big brown bat) a widespread North American species.
- littoral warfare — military combat conducted in coastal areas.
- long-wire aerial — a travelling-wave aerial consisting of one or more conductors, the length of which usually exceeds several wavelengths
- lord howe island — an island in the S Pacific, E of Australia: a dependency of New South Wales. 5 sq. mi. (13 sq. km).
- lost-wax process — a process of investment casting in which a refractory mold is built up around a pattern of wax and then baked so as to melt and drain off the wax.
- low-carbon steel — steel containing between 0.04 and 0.25 per cent carbon
- lower california — Baja California.
- lower lough erne — a lough in Northern Ireland, fed by the river Erne
- lower palatinate — See under Palatinate (def 1).
- luck of the draw — the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I'll probably get pneumonia.
- magnolia warbler — a black and yellow wood warbler, Dendroica magnolia, of North America.
- man of few words — man who speaks very little
- man of the world — a man who is widely experienced in the ways of the world and people; an urbane, sophisticated man.
- matthew of paris — c1200–59, English chronicler.
- 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
- micrometer screw — a screw with a fine thread of definite pitch, such as that of a micrometer gauge