8-letter words containing w
- coxswain — The coxswain of a lifeboat or other small boat is the person who steers the boat.
- cpu wars — /C-P-U worz/ A 1979 large-format comic by Chas Andres chronicling the attempts of the brainwashed androids of IPM (Impossible to Program Machines) to conquer and destroy the peaceful denizens of HEC (Human Engineered Computers). This rather transparent allegory featured many references to ADVENT and the immortal line "Eat flaming death, minicomputer mongrels!" (uttered, of course, by an IPM stormtrooper). It is alleged that the author subsequently received a letter of appreciation on IBM company stationery from the head of IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Laboratories (then, as now, one of the few islands of true hackerdom in the IBM archipelago). The lower loop of the B in the IBM logo, it is said, had been carefully whited out. See eat flaming death.
- crabwise — (of motion) sideways; like a crab
- crabwood — a tropical American meliaceous tree, Carapa guianensis
- crackjaw — difficult to pronounce
- cramdown — (legal) A court settlement in bankruptcy in which creditors receive less than they were owed.
- cranwell — a village in E England, in Lincolnshire: Royal Air Force College (1920)
- crawdads — Plural form of crawdad.
- crawfish — A crawfish is a small shellfish with five pairs of legs which lives in rivers and streams. You can eat some types of crawfish.
- crawford — Joan, real name Lucille le Sueur. 1908–77, US film actress, who portrayed ambitious women in such films as Mildred Pierce (1945)
- crawlers — a baby's overalls; rompers
- crawlies — Fear, anxiety.
- crawling — a defect in freshly applied paint or varnish characterized by bare patches and ridging
- crawlway — a low passageway in a cave or mine that can only be negotiated by crawling
- crenshaw — a hybrid variety of melon with yellow skin and pale pink flesh
- crew cab — A crew cab is a cab in a vehicle such as a fire engine that has been extended with a second row of seats to carry additional crew.
- crew cut — A crew cut is a man's hairstyle in which his hair is cut very short.
- crewless — with no crew
- crewmate — a colleague on the crew of a boat or ship
- crewneck — A crewneck or a crewneck sweater is a sweater with a round neck.
- cribwork — a supporting framework of beams, logs, etc. built in layers, each layer having its unit at right angles to those of the layer below
- cromwell — Oliver. 1599–1658, English general and statesman. A convinced Puritan, he was an effective leader of the parliamentary army in the Civil War. After the execution of Charles I he quelled the Royalists in Scotland and Ireland, and became Lord Protector of the Commonwealth (1653–58)
- crossbow — A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a small, powerful bow that is fixed across a piece of wood, and aimed like a gun.
- crossway — a junction
- crow jim — reverse racism; racism by Black people against White people
- crow-hop — a short hop.
- crowbait — an emaciated, worn-out horse or cow.
- crowbars — Plural form of crowbar.
- crowboot — a type of Inuit boot made of fur and leather
- crowd in — If problems or thoughts crowd in on you, a lot of them happen to you or affect you at the same time, so that they occupy all your attention and make you feel unable to escape.
- crowding — a large number of persons gathered closely together; throng: a crowd of angry people.
- crowfoot — any of several plants of the genus Ranunculus, such as R. sceleratus and R. aquatilis (water crowfoot) that have yellow or white flowers and divided leaves resembling the foot of a crow
- crowners — Plural form of crowner.
- crownets — Plural form of crownet.
- crowning — the stage of labour when the infant's head is passing through the vaginal opening
- crownlet — a small crown
- crowstep — corbiestep.
- crudware — /kruhd'weir/ Pejorative term for the hundreds of megabytes of low-quality freeware circulated by user's groups and BBSs in the micro-hobbyist world.
- cry down — to belittle; disparage
- cry wolf — If someone cries wolf, they say that there is a problem when there is not, with the result that people do not believe them when there really is a problem.
- cudweeds — Plural form of cudweed.
- cudworth — Ralph. 1617–88, English philosopher and theologian. His works include True Intellectual System of the Universe (1678) and A Treatise concerning Eternal and Immutable Morality (1731)
- curassow — any gallinaceous ground-nesting bird of the family Cracidae, of S North, Central, and South America. Curassows have long legs and tails and, typically, a distinctive crest of curled feathers
- cussword — a swearword
- cut down — If you cut down on something or cut down something, you use or do less of it.
- cutaways — Plural form of cutaway.
- cutwater — the forward part of the stem of a vessel, which cuts through the water
- cutworms — Plural form of cutworm.
- cyberwar — The use of computers to disrupt the activities of an enemy country, especially the deliberate attacking of communication systems.
- cycleway — A cycleway is a road, route, or path for cyclists.