wi -abbr

  1. when issued

WI -abbr

  1. Wisconsin

WIA -abbr

  1. wounded in action

Wic·ca ['wi-kə] -n, adj or n

  1. a religion influenced by pre-Christian beliefs and practices of western Europe that affirms the existence of supernatural power (as magic) and of both male and female deities who inhere in nature and that emphasizes ritual observance of seasonal and life cycles

wick ['wik] -n

  1. a bundle of fibers or a loosely twisted, braided, or woven cord, tape, or tube usu. of soft spun cotton threads that by capillary attraction draws up to be burned a steady supply of the oil in lamps or the melted tallow or wax in candles
  2. to absorb or drain (as a fluid or moisture) like a wick
    • a fabric that wick s away perspiration

wick·ed ['wi-kəd] -adj, adv

  1. morally very bad : evil
  2. fierce, vicious
    • a wicked dog
  3. disposed to or marked by mischief : roguish
    • does wicked impersonations
  4. disgustingly unpleasant : vile
    • a wicked odor
  5. causing or likely to cause harm, distress, or trouble
    • a wicked storm
  6. going beyond reasonable or predictable limits : of exceptional quality or degree
    • throws a wicked fastball

wicked -adv

  1. very, extremely
    • wicked fast

wick·ed·ness -n

  1. the quality or state of being wicked
  2. something wicked

wick·er ['wi-kər] -n, adj

  1. a small pliant twig or branch (as of osier) : withe
  2. wickerwork
  3. something made of wicker

wick·er·work [-,wərk] -n

  1. work consisting of interlaced pliant twigs or branches
    • a cage of wickerwork

wick·et ['wi-kət] -n

  1. a small gate or door
  2. one forming part of or placed near a larger gate or door
  3. an opening like a window
  4. a grilled or grated window through which business is transacted
  5. either of the two sets of three stumps topped by two crosspieces and set 66 feet apart at which the ball is bowled in cricket
  6. an area 10 feet wide bounded by these wickets
  7. one innings of a batsman
  8. one that is not completed or never begun
    • win by three wicket s
  9. an arch or hoop in croquet

wick·et·keep·er ['wi-kət-,kē-pər] -n

  1. a fielder in cricket who stands behind the wicket at which the ball is being bowled

wick·ing ['wi-kiŋ] -n

  1. material for wicks

wick·i·up ['wi-kē-,əp] -n

  1. a hut used by the nomadic Indians of the arid regions of the western and southwestern U.S. with a usu. oval base and a rough frame covered with reed mats, grass, or brushwood
  2. a rude temporary shelter or hut

wid·der·shins ['wi-dər-shənz] -adv

  1. in a left-handed, wrong, or contrary direction : counterclockwise

wid·dy ['wi-dē] -n

  1. a rope of osiers
  2. a hangman's noose

wide ['wīd] -adj, n

  1. having great extent : vast
    • a wide area
  2. extending over a vast area : extensive
    • a wide reputation
  3. extending throughout a specified area or scope usu. used in combination
    • nation wide
    • industry- wide
  4. comprehensive, inclusive
    • a wide assortment
  5. having a specified extension from side to side
    • 3 feet wide
  6. having much extent between the sides : broad
    • a wide doorway
  7. fully opened
    • wide -eyed
  8. lax
  9. extending or fluctuating considerably between limits
    • a wide variation
  10. straying or deviating from something specified used with of
    • the accusation was wide of the truth
  11. relatively rich in carbohydrate as compared with protein
  12. over a great distance or extent : widely
    • searched far and wide
  13. over a specified distance, area, or extent usu. used in combination
    • expanded the business country- wide
  14. so as to leave much space or distance between
    • placed wide apart
  15. so as to pass at or clear by a considerable distance
    • ran wide around left end
  16. to the fullest extent : completely, fully
    • wide open

widean·gle ['wīd-'aŋ-gəl] -adj

  1. having or covering an angle of view wider than the ordinary used esp. of lenses of shorter than normal focal length
  2. having, involving the use of, or relating to a wide-angle lens
    • a wideangle shot

wide area network -n

  1. a network of computers (as the Internet) in a large area (as a country or the globe) for sharing resources or exchanging data

wide·awake [,wīd-ə-'wāk] -n

  1. a soft felt hat with a low crown and a wide brim
  2. sooty tern

wideawake -adj

  1. fully awake
  2. alertly watchful esp. for advantages or opportunities

wide·band ['wīd-,band] -adj

  1. broadband

widebody ['wīd-,bä-dē] -n

  1. a large jet aircraft characterized by a wide cabin

wideeyed ['wīd-'īd] -adj

  1. having or marked by unsophisticated or uncritical acceptance or admiration : naive
    • wideeyed innocence
  2. having the eyes wide open esp. with wonder or astonishment

wide·ly -adv

  1. over or through a wide area
    • has traveled widely
  2. to a great extent
    • departed widely from the previous edition
  3. by or among a large well-dispersed group of people
    • a widely known political figure
  4. over a broad range
    • persons with widely fluctuating incomes -- Current Biog.

wide·mouthed ['wīd-'mau̇thd, -'mau̇tht] -adj

  1. having one's mouth opened wide (as in awe)
  2. having a wide mouth
    • widemouthed jars

wid·en ['wī-dᵊn] -vb, n

  1. to increase the width, scope, or extent of
    • widen a road
    • widen an investigation
  2. to become wide or wider
    • a widen ing gap

wideopen ['wīd-'ō-pən, -,ō-] -adj

  1. having virtually no limits or restrictions
    • a wideopen town

wide·out ['wīd-,au̇t] -n

  1. wide receiver

widerang·ing ['wīd-,rān-jiŋ] -adj

  1. extensive in scope : comprehensive
    • wideranging interests

wide receiver -n

  1. a football receiver who normally lines up several yards to the side of the offensive formation

widescreen -adj

  1. of or relating to a projected picture whose aspect ratio is substantially greater than 1.33:1

wide·spread ['wīd-'spred] -adj

  1. widely diffused or prevalent
    • widespread public interest
  2. widely extended or spread out
    • low, widespread hood and fenders -- Time
    • a widespread erosion surface -- C. B. Hitchcock

widespread·ing [-,spre-diŋ] -adj

  1. stretching or extending over a wide space or area
    • widespreading thatch roofs -- Nat'l Geographic

widgeon ['wi-jən] -n

(variant of wigeon)

  1. : any of several freshwater ducks (genus Anas): as
  2. an Old World duck ( Anas penelope) having a large white patch on each wing with the male having a reddish-brown head and buff crown
  3. american wigeon

wid·get ['wi-jət] -n

  1. gadget
  2. an unnamed article considered for purposes of hypothetical example

wid·ish ['wī-dish] -adj

  1. somewhat wide

wid·ow ['wi-(,)dō] -n

  1. a woman who has lost her husband by death and usu. has not remarried
  2. grass widow
  3. a woman whose husband leaves her alone frequently or for long periods to engage in a usu. specified activity
    • a golf widow
  4. an extra hand or part of a hand of cards dealt face down and usu. placed at the disposal of the highest bidder
  5. a single usu. short last line (as of a paragraph) separated from its related text and appearing at the top of a printed page or column

widow -vt

  1. to cause to become a widow or widower
  2. to survive as the widow of
  3. to deprive of something greatly valued or needed

wid·ow·bird ['wi-dō-,bərd] -n

  1. any of several whydahs (genus Euplectes)

wid·ow·er ['wi-də-wər] -n

  1. a man who has lost his wife by death and usu. has not remarried

wid·ow·er·hood [-,hu̇d] -n

  1. the fact or state of being a widower
  2. the period during which a man remains a widower

wid·ow·hood ['wi-dō-,hu̇d, -də-] -n

  1. the fact or state of being a widow
  2. the period during which a woman remains a widow
  3. widowerhood

widow's cruse -n

  1. an inexhaustible supply

widow's peak -n

  1. a point formed by the hairline in front

widow's walk -n

  1. a railed observation platform atop a usu. coastal house

width ['width, 'witth] -n

  1. the horizontal measurement taken at right angles to the length : breadth
  2. largeness of extent or scope
  3. a measured and cut piece of material
    • a width of calico

wield ['wēld] -vt, n

  1. to deal successfully with : manage
  2. to handle (as a tool) esp. effectively
    • wield a broom
  3. to exert one's authority by means of
    • wield influence
  4. have at one's command or disposal
    • did not wield appropriate credentials -- G. W. Bonham

wieldy ['wēl-dē] -adj

  1. capable of being wielded easily

wie·ner ['wē-nər, 'wē-nē also 'wi-nē] -n

  1. frankfurter

Wie·ner schnit·zel ['vē-nər-,shnit-səl, 'wē-nər-,snit-] -n

  1. a thin breaded veal cutlet

wie·ner·wurst ['wē-nə(r)-,wərst also -,wu̇rst sometimes -,wu̇sht or -,wu̇st; also with v for w] -n

  1. vienna sausage
  2. frankfurter

wie·nie ['wē-nē also 'wi-nē] -n

  1. frankfurter

wife ['wīf] -n, adj

  1. woman
  2. a woman acting in a specified capacity used in combination
    • fish wife
  3. a female partner in a marriage

wife·beat·er ['wīf-,bē-tər] -n

  1. a man's white tank top

wif·ey ['wī-fē] -n

  1. wife

wife·like ['wīf-,līk] -adv

  1. in a wifely manner

wifelike -adj

  1. wifely

wife·ly ['wī-flē] -adj, n

  1. of, relating to, or befitting a wife

Wif·fle ['wi-fᵊl] -trademark

  1. used for a hollow plastic ball with cutouts in one hemisphere

WiFi ['wī-'fī] -certification mark

  1. used to certify the interoperability of wireless computer networking devices

wif·ty ['wif-tē] -adj

  1. ditzy

wig ['wig] -n

  1. a manufactured covering of natural or synthetic hair for the head
  2. toupee
  3. an act of wigging : rebuke
  4. to scold severely
  5. to lose one's composure or reason : freak usu. used with out

wig·an ['wi-gən] -n

  1. a stiff plain-weave cotton fabric used for interlining

wi·geon ['wi-jən] -n

  1. : any of several freshwater ducks (genus Anas): as
  2. an Old World duck ( Anas penelope) having a large white patch on each wing with the male having a reddish-brown head and buff crown
  3. american wigeon

wigged -adj

  1. wearing a wig esp. of a specified kind

wiggedout ['wigd-'au̇t] -adj

  1. mentally or emotionally discomposed : upset, crazy

wig·gle ['wi-gəl] -vb

  1. to move to and fro with quick jerky or shaking motions : jiggle
  2. to proceed with or as if with twisting and turning movements : wriggle
  3. to cause to wiggle

wiggle ['wi-g(ə-)lē] -n, adj

  1. the act of wiggling
  2. shellfish or fish in cream sauce with peas

wig·gler ['wi-g(ə-)lər] -n

  1. a larva or pupa of the mosquito called also wriggler
  2. one that wiggles

wiggle room -n

  1. leeway, latitude
    • a contract with wiggle room for further negotiations

wight ['wīt] -n

  1. a living being : creature
  2. a human being
  3. valiant, stalwart

wig·let ['wi-glət] -n

  1. a small wig used esp. to enhance a hairstyle

wig·wag ['wig-,wag] -vb

  1. to signal by wigwagging
  2. to cause to wigwag
  3. to send a signal by or as if by a flag or light waved according to a code
  4. to make a signal (as by waving the hand or arm)

wigwag -n

  1. the art or practice of wigwagging

wig·wam ['wig-,wäm] -n

  1. a hut of the American Indians of the Great Lakes region and eastward having typically an arched framework of poles overlaid with bark, mats, or hides
  2. a rough hut

wi·ki ['wi-kē, 'wē-] -n

  1. a Web site that allows visitors to make changes, contributions, or corrections

wil·co ['wil-(,)kō] -interj

  1. used esp. in radio and signaling to indicate that a message received will be complied with

wild ['wī(-ə)ld] -adj, n

  1. living in a state of nature and not ordinarily tame or domesticated
    • wild ducks
  2. growing or produced without human aid or care
    • wild honey
  3. related to or resembling a corresponding cultivated or domesticated organism
  4. of or relating to wild organisms
    • the wild state
  5. not inhabited or cultivated
    • wild land
  6. not amenable to human habitation or cultivation
  7. desolate
  8. not subject to restraint or regulation : uncontrolled
  9. unruly
  10. emotionally overcome
    • wild with grief
  11. passionately eager or enthusiastic
    • was wild to own a toy train -- J. C. Furnas
  12. marked by turbulent agitation : stormy
    • a wild night
  13. going beyond normal or conventional bounds : fantastic
    • wild ideas
  14. sensational
  15. indicative of strong passion, desire, or emotion
    • a wild gleam of delight in his eyes -- Irish Digest
  16. uncivilized, barbaric
  17. characteristic of, appropriate to, or expressive of wilderness, wildlife, or a simple or uncivilized society
  18. deviating from the intended or expected course
    • wild spelling -- C. W. Cunnington
    • the throw was wild
  19. tending to throw inaccurately
    • a wild pitcher
  20. having no basis in known or surmised fact
    • a wild guess
  21. able to represent any card designated by the holder
  22. a sparsely inhabited or uncultivated region or tract : wilderness
  23. a wild, free, or natural state or existence
  24. : in a wild manner: as
  25. without regulation or control
    • plants that grow wild
  26. off an intended or expected course

wild bergamot -n

  1. a perennial aromatic No. American monarda ( Monarda fistulosa) having a terminal cluster of pink or purple flowers

wild boar -n

  1. an Old World wild hog ( Sus scrofa) from which most domestic swine have been derived

wild card -n

  1. an unknown or unpredictable factor
  2. one picked to fill a leftover playoff or tournament berth after regularly qualifying competitors have all been determined
  3. a symbol (as ? or ) used in a keyword database search to represent the presence of zero, one, or more than one unspecified characters

wild carrot -n

  1. queen anne's lace

wild·cat ['wī(-ə)l(d)-,kat] -n

  1. an Old World cat ( Felis silvestris) that resembles but is heavier in build than the domestic tabby cat and is usu. held to be among the ancestors of the domestic cat
  2. any of various small or medium-sized cats (as the lynx or ocelot)
  3. a feral domestic cat
  4. a savage quick-tempered person
  5. wildcat money
  6. a wildcat oil or gas well
  7. a wildcat strike

wildcat -adj

  1. issued by a financially irresponsible banking establishment
    • wildcat currency
  2. financially irresponsible or unreliable
    • wildcat banks
  3. operating, produced, or carried on outside the bounds of standard or legitimate business practices
    • wildcat insurance schemes -- H. H. Reichard
  4. of, relating to, or being an oil or gas well drilled in territory not known to be productive
  5. initiated by a group of workers without formal union approval or in violation of a contract
    • a wildcat strike
    • wildcat work stoppages
  6. having a bullet of standard caliber but using an expanded case or a case designed for a bullet of greater caliber necked down for the smaller bullet
  7. using wildcat cartridges
  8. to prospect and drill an experimental oil or gas well or sink a mine shaft in territory not known to be productive

wild·cat·ter [-,ka-tər] -n

  1. one that drills wells in the hope of finding oil in territory not known to be an oil field
  2. one that promotes unsafe and unreliable enterprises
  3. one that sells stocks in such enterprises
  4. one that designs, builds, or fires wildcat cartridges and firearms
  5. a worker who goes out on a wildcat strike

wild celery -n

  1. tape grass

wild dog -n

  1. any of various undomesticated canids (as an African wild dog or a dingo) that resemble the domestic dog

wil·de·beest ['wil-də-,bēst] -n

  1. either of two large African antelopes ( Connochaetes gnouand C. taurinus) with a head like that of an ox, short mane, long tail, and horns in both sexes that curve downward and outward called also gnu

wil·der ['wil-dər] -vb, n

  1. to lead astray
  2. bewilder, perplex
  3. to move at random : wander

wil·der·ness ['wil-dər-nəs] -n

  1. a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings
  2. an area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life community
  3. an empty or pathless area or region
    • in remote wilderness es of space groups of nebulae are found -- G. W. Gray 1960
  4. a part of a garden devoted to wild growth
  5. wild or uncultivated state
  6. a confusing multitude or mass : an indefinitely great number or quantity
    • I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys -- Shak.
  7. a bewildering situation
    • those moral wilderness es of civilized life -- Norman Mailer

wilderness area -n

  1. an often large tract of public land maintained essentially in its natural state and protected against introduction of intrusive artifacts (as roads and buildings)

wildeyed ['wī(-ə)ld-'īd] -adj

  1. having a wild expression in the eyes
  2. consisting of or favoring extreme or visionary ideas

wild·fire [-,fī(-ə)r] -n

  1. a sweeping and destructive conflagration esp. in a wilderness or a rural area
  2. greek fire
  3. a phosphorescent glow (as ignis fatuus or fox fire)
  4. a destructive leaf-spot disease of tobacco caused by several strains of a bacterium ( Pseudomonas syringae)

wild·flow·er [-,flau̇(-ə)r] -n

  1. the flower of a wild or uncultivated plant or the plant bearing it

wild·fowl [-,fau̇(-ə)l] -n

  1. a game bird
  2. a game waterfowl (as a wild duck or goose)

wild geranium -n

  1. a common geranium ( Geranium maculatum) of eastern No. America with deeply parted leaves and flowers of rosy purple
  2. any of several related geraniums

wild ginger -n

  1. any of a genus ( Asarum) of perennial low-growing herbs of the birthwort family with an aromatic rhizome and usu. cordate leaves

wildgoose chase -n

  1. a complicated or lengthy and usu. fruitless pursuit or search

wild hyacinth -n

  1. : any of several plants with flowers suggestive of hyacinths: as
  2. a camas ( Camassia scilloides) of eastern No. America with white or bluish racemose flowers
  3. bluebell
  4. any of several western No. American herbs (genus Brodiaea) of the lily family with grasslike basal leaves and variously colored flowers

wild indigo -n

  1. baptisia
  2. one ( Baptisia tinctoria) of eastern No. America with bright yellow flowers and small trifoliolate leaves

wild·ing ['wīl-diŋ] -n

  1. a plant growing uncultivated in the wild either as a native or an escape
  2. a wild apple or crab apple
  3. the fruit of a wilding
  4. a wild animal

wilding -adj

  1. not domesticated or cultivated : wild

wild·land ['wī(-ə)l(d)-,land] -n

  1. land that is uncultivated or unfit for cultivation

wild·life [-,līf] -n

  1. living things and esp. mammals, birds, and fishes that are neither human nor domesticated

wild·ling [-liŋ] -n

  1. wilding

wild·ly ['wī(-ə)l(d)-lē] -adv

  1. in a wild manner
    • was talking wildly
  2. extremely
    • wildly popular
    • wildly enthusiastic

wild marjoram -n

  1. oregano

wild mustard -n

  1. charlock

wild oat -n

  1. any of several Old World wild grasses (genus Avena)
  2. a Eurasian annual weed ( A. fatua) common in meadows and pastures
  3. offenses and indiscretions ascribed to youthful exuberance usu. used in the phrase sow one's wild oats

wild pansy -n

  1. johnny-jump-up

wild pink -n

  1. catchfly ( Silene caroliniana) with pink or whitish flowers

wild pitch -n

  1. a baseball pitch not hit by the batter that cannot be caught or controlled by the catcher with ordinary effort and that enables a base runner to advance

wild rice -n

  1. a tall aquatic No. American perennial grass ( Zizania aquatica) that yields an edible grain
  2. the grain

wild rye -n

  1. any of several tall grasses (genus Elymus)

wild sarsaparilla -n

  1. a common No. American perennial herb ( Aralia nudicaulis) of the ginseng family with long-stalked basal compound leaves, umbels of greenish flowers, and an aromatic root used as a substitute of true sarsaparilla

wild type -n, adj

  1. a phenotype, genotype, or gene that predominates in a natural population of organisms or strain of organisms in contrast to that of natural or laboratory mutant forms
  2. an organism or strain displaying the wild type

Wild West -n, adj

  1. the western U.S. in its frontier period characterized by roughness and lawlessness

wild·wood ['wī(-ə)l(d)-,wu̇d] -n

  1. a wood unaltered or unfrequented by humans

wile ['wī(-ə)l] -n

  1. a trick or stratagem intended to ensnare or deceive
  2. a beguiling or playful trick
  3. skill in outwitting : trickery, guile
  4. to lure by or as if by a magic spell : entice
  5. while

will [wəl, (ə)l, ᵊl, 'wil] -vb

  1. desire, wish
    • call it what you will
  2. used to express desire, choice, willingness, consent, or in negative constructions refusal
    • no one would take the job
    • if we will all do our best
    • will you please stop that racket
  3. used to express frequent, customary, or habitual action or natural tendency or disposition
    • will get angry over nothing
    • will work one day and loaf the next
  4. used to express futurity
    • tomorrow morning I will wake up in this first-class hotel suite -- Tennessee Williams
  5. used to express capability or sufficiency
    • the back seat will hold three passengers
  6. used to express probability and often equivalent to the simple verb
    • that will be the babysitter
  7. used to express determination, insistence, persistence, or willfulness
    • I have made up my mind to go and go I will
  8. used to express inevitability
    • accidents will happen
  9. used to express a command, exhortation, or injunction
    • you will do as I say, at once
  10. to have a wish or desire
    • whether we will or no
  11. : desire, wish: as
  12. disposition, inclination
    • where there's a will there's a way
  13. appetite, passion
  14. choice, determination
  15. something desired
  16. a choice or determination of one having authority or power
  17. request, command
  18. the part of a summons expressing a royal command
  19. the act, process, or experience of willing : volition
  20. mental powers manifested as wishing, choosing, desiring, or intending
  21. a disposition to act according to principles or ends
  22. the collective desire of a group
    • the will of the people
  23. the power of control over one's own actions or emotions
    • a man of iron will
  24. a legal declaration of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property or estate after death
  25. a written instrument legally executed by which a person makes disposition of his or her estate to take effect after death
  26. to order or direct by a will
    • will ed that her property be divided among her children
  27. to dispose of by or as if by a will : bequeath
    • will ed his entire estate to this wife
  28. to determine by an act of choice
  29. decree, ordain
    • Providence will s it
  30. intend, purpose
  31. to cause or change by an act of will
    • believed he could will himself to succeed
  32. to try to do so
  33. to exercise the will
  34. choose
    • do as you will

willed ['wild] -adj

  1. having a will esp. of a specified kind usu. used in combination
    • strong- willed
  2. deliberate

wil·lem·ite ['wi-lə-,mīt] -n

  1. a mineral of varying color consisting of a silicate of zinc and occurring esp. in massive or granular forms

wil·let ['wi-lət] -n

  1. a large American shorebird ( Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) of the sandpiper family that resembles the greater yellowlegs but has a thicker bill and gray legs and that displays a black-and-white wing pattern when in flight

will·ful ['wil-fəl] -adj, adv, n

  1. obstinately and often perversely self-willed
    • a stubborn and willful child
  2. done deliberately : intentional
    • willful disobedience

Wil·liams syndrome ['wil-yəmz-] -n

  1. a rare genetic disorder marked esp. by hypercalcemia of infants, heart defects, characteristic facial abnormalities, and mild to moderate mental retardation but a high verbal aptitude

Wil·liam Tell [,wil-yəm-'tel] -n

  1. a heroic archer in Swiss legend who complies with an order to shoot an apple off his son's head

wil·lies ['wi-lēz] -n pl

  1. a fit of nervousness : jitters used with the

will·ing ['wi-liŋ] -adj, adv, n

  1. inclined or favorably disposed in mind : ready
    • willing and eager to help
  2. prompt to act or respond
    • lending a willing hand
  3. done, borne, or accepted by choice or without reluctance
    • a willing sacrifice
  4. of or relating to the will or power of choosing : volitional

wil·li·waw ['wi-li-,wȯ] -n

  1. a sudden violent gust of cold land air common along mountainous coasts of high latitudes
  2. a sudden violent wind
  3. a violent commotion

willless ['wil-ləs] -adj

  1. involving no exercise of the will : involuntary
    • willless obedience
  2. not exercising the will
    • life-benumbed, willless characters -- Norma Rosen

willo'thewisp [,wil-ə-thə-'wisp] -n, adj

  1. ignis fatuus
  2. a delusive or elusive goal

wil·low ['wi-(,)lō] -n, adj

  1. any of a genus ( Salixof the family Salicaceae, the willow family) of trees and shrubs bearing catkins of apetalous flowers and including forms of value for wood, osiers, or tanbark and a few ornamentals
  2. an object made of willow wood
  3. a cricket bat

willow herb -n

  1. any of a genus ( Epilobium) of herbs of the evening-primrose family
  2. fireweed

wil·low·ware ['wi-lə-,wer, 'wi-lō-] -n

  1. dinnerware that is usu. blue and white and that is decorated with a story-telling design featuring a large willow tree by a little bridge

wil·lowy ['wi-lə-wē] -adj

  1. abounding with willows
  2. : resembling a willow:
  3. pliant
  4. gracefully tall and slender
    • a willowy actress

will·pow·er ['wil-,pau̇(-ə)r] -n

  1. energetic determination

will to power

  1. the drive of the superman in the philosophy of Nietzsche to perfect and transcend the self through the possession and exercise of creative power
  2. a conscious or unconscious desire to exercise authority over others

wil·ly ['wi-lē] -n

  1. penis

wil·lynil·ly [,wi-lē-'ni-lē] -adv or adj

  1. by compulsion : without choice
  2. in a haphazard or spontaneous manner

Wilms' tumor ['vilm-zəz-, 'vilmz-] -n

  1. a malignant tumor of the kidney that primarily affects children and is made up of embryonic elements

Wil·son's disease ['wil-sənz-] -n

  1. a hereditary disease that is characterized by excessive accumulation of copper in the body (as in the liver or brain) due to abnormal copper metabolism, is determined by an autosomal recessive gene, and is marked esp. by liver dysfunction and neurologic disease

wilt [wəl, (ə)l, ᵊl, 'wil] -vb

(variant of will)

  1. desire, wish
    • call it what you will
  2. used to express desire, choice, willingness, consent, or in negative constructions refusal
    • no one would take the job
    • if we will all do our best
    • will you please stop that racket
  3. used to express frequent, customary, or habitual action or natural tendency or disposition
    • will get angry over nothing
    • will work one day and loaf the next
  4. used to express futurity
    • tomorrow morning I will wake up in this first-class hotel suite -- Tennessee Williams
  5. used to express capability or sufficiency
    • the back seat will hold three passengers
  6. used to express probability and often equivalent to the simple verb
    • that will be the babysitter
  7. used to express determination, insistence, persistence, or willfulness
    • I have made up my mind to go and go I will
  8. used to express inevitability
    • accidents will happen
  9. used to express a command, exhortation, or injunction
    • you will do as I say, at once
  10. to have a wish or desire
    • whether we will or no
  11. : desire, wish: as
  12. disposition, inclination
    • where there's a will there's a way
  13. appetite, passion
  14. choice, determination
  15. something desired
  16. a choice or determination of one having authority or power
  17. request, command
  18. the part of a summons expressing a royal command
  19. the act, process, or experience of willing : volition
  20. mental powers manifested as wishing, choosing, desiring, or intending
  21. a disposition to act according to principles or ends
  22. the collective desire of a group
    • the will of the people
  23. the power of control over one's own actions or emotions
    • a man of iron will
  24. a legal declaration of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property or estate after death
  25. a written instrument legally executed by which a person makes disposition of his or her estate to take effect after death
  26. to order or direct by a will
    • will ed that her property be divided among her children
  27. to dispose of by or as if by a will : bequeath
    • will ed his entire estate to this wife
  28. to determine by an act of choice
  29. decree, ordain
    • Providence will s it
  30. intend, purpose
  31. to cause or change by an act of will
    • believed he could will himself to succeed
  32. to try to do so
  33. to exercise the will
  34. choose
    • do as you will

Wil·ton ['wil-tᵊn] -n

  1. a carpet woven with loops like the Brussels carpet but having a velvet cut pile and being generally of better materials

wily ['wī-lē] -adj, adv, n

  1. full of wiles : crafty
    • a wily negotiator

wim·ble ['wim-bəl] -n

  1. any of various instruments for boring holes

wimble [-b(ə-)liŋ] -vt

  1. to bore with or as if with a wimble

wimp ['wimp] -n, adj

  1. a weak, cowardly, or ineffectual person

wim·ple ['wim-pəl] -n

  1. a cloth covering worn over the head and around the neck and chin esp. by women in the late medieval period and by some nuns
  2. a crafty turn : twist
  3. curve, bend

wimple [-p(ə-)liŋ] -vb

  1. to cover with or as if with a wimple : veil
  2. to cause to ripple
  3. to fall or lie in folds
  4. to follow a winding course : meander
  5. ripple

wimp out -vi

  1. to behave like a wimp : chicken out
  2. to choose the easiest course of action

win ['win] -vb, adj

  1. to get possession of by effort or fortune
  2. to obtain by work : earn
    • striving to win a living from the sterile soil
  3. to gain in or as if in battle or contest
    • won the championship
  4. to be the victor in
    • won the war
  5. to make friendly or favorable to oneself or to one's cause often used with over
    • won him over with persuasive arguments
  6. to induce to accept oneself in marriage
    • was unable to win the woman he loved
  7. to obtain (as ore, coal, or clay) by mining
  8. to prepare (as a vein or bed) for regular mining
  9. to recover (as metal) from ore
  10. to reach by expenditure of effort
  11. to gain the victory in a contest : succeed
  12. to succeed in arriving at a place or a state
  13. victory
  14. first place at the finish (as of a horse race)

wince ['win(t)s] -vi, n

  1. to shrink back involuntarily (as from pain) : flinch

winch ['winch] -n

  1. any of various machines or instruments for hauling or pulling
  2. a powerful machine with one or more drums on which to coil a rope, cable, or chain for hauling or hoisting : windlass
  3. a crank with a handle for giving motion to a machine (as a grindstone)
  4. to hoist or haul with or as if with a winch

Win·ches·ter ['win-,ches-tər] -adj

  1. relating to or being computer disk technology that permits high-density storage by sealing the rigid metal disks within the disk drive mechanism as protection against dust

wind ['wind, archaic or poetic 'wīnd] -n, adj, adv

  1. a natural movement of air of any velocity
  2. the earth's air or the gas surrounding a planet in natural motion horizontally
  3. an artificially produced movement of air
  4. solar wind, stellar wind
  5. a destructive force or influence
  6. a force or agency that carries along or influences : tendency, trend
    • withstood the wind s of popular opinion -- Felix Frankfurter
  7. breath
  8. breath
  9. the pit of the stomach : solar plexus
  10. gas generated in the stomach or the intestines
    • pass wind
  11. compressed air or gas
  12. air
  13. : something that is insubstantial: as
  14. mere talk : idle words
  15. nothing, nothingness
  16. vain self-satisfaction
  17. air carrying a scent (as of a hunter or game)
  18. slight information esp. about something secret : intimation
    • got wind of the plan
  19. musical wind instruments esp. as distinguished from strings and percussion
  20. players of wind instruments
  21. a direction from which the wind may blow : a point of the compass
  22. one of the cardinal points
  23. the direction from which the wind is blowing
  24. to detect or follow by scent
  25. to expose to the air or wind : dry by exposing to air
  26. to make short of breath
  27. to regulate the wind supply of (an organ pipe)
  28. to rest (as a horse) in order to allow the breath to be recovered
  29. to scent game
  30. to pause for breath
  31. to cause (as a horn) to sound by blowing : blow
  32. to sound (as a call or note) on a horn
    • wound a rousing call -- R. L. Stevenson
  33. to produce a sound on a horn
  34. weave
  35. entangle, involve
  36. to introduce sinuously or stealthily : insinuate
  37. to encircle or cover with something pliable : bind with loops or layers
  38. to turn completely or repeatedly about an object : coil, twine
  39. to hoist or haul by means of a rope or chain and a windlass
  40. to move (a ship) by hauling on a capstan
  41. to tighten the spring of
    • wind a clock
  42. to make tighter : tighten, tune
  43. crank
  44. to raise to a high level (as of excitement or tension) usu. used with up
  45. to cause to move in a curving line or path
  46. to turn the course of
  47. to lead (a person) as one wishes
  48. to cause (as a ship) to change direction : turn
  49. to turn (a ship) end for end
  50. to traverse on a curving course
    • the river wind s the valley
  51. to effect by or as if by curving
  52. bend, warp
  53. to have a curving course or shape : extend in curves
  54. to proceed as if by winding
  55. to move so as to encircle something
  56. to turn when lying at anchor
  57. a mechanism (as a winch) for winding
  58. an act of winding : the state of being wound
  59. coil, turn
  60. a particular method of winding

wind·age ['win-dij] -n

  1. the space between the projectile of a smoothbore gun and the surface of the bore
  2. the difference between the diameter of the bore of a muzzle-loading rifled cannon and that of the projectile cylinder
  3. the amount of sight deflection necessary to compensate for wind displacement in aiming a gun
  4. the influence of the wind in deflecting the course of a projectile
  5. the amount of deflection due to the wind
  6. the surface exposed (as by a ship) to the wind

wind·bag ['win(d)-,bag] -n

  1. an exhaustively talkative person

windbell [-,bel] -n

  1. wind chime usu. used in pl.
  2. a bell that is light enough to be moved and sounded by the wind

wind·blast [-,blast] -n

  1. a gust of wind
  2. the destructive effect of air friction on a pilot ejected from a high-speed airplane

wind·blown [-,blōn] -adj

  1. blown by the wind
  2. having a permanent set or character of growth determined by the prevailing winds
    • windblown trees

windborne [-,bȯrn] -adj

  1. carried by the wind
    • windborne pollen
    • windborne soil deposits

wind·break [-,brāk] -n

  1. a growth of trees or shrubs serving to break the force of wind
  2. a shelter (as a fence) from the wind

Wind·break·er [-,brā-kər] -trademark

  1. used for a jacket made of wind-resistant material

windbro·ken [-,brō-kən] -adj

  1. affected with pulmonary emphysema or heaves

wind·burn [-,bərn] -n, adj

  1. irritation of the skin caused by wind

wind·chill ['win(d)-,chil] -n

  1. a still-air temperature that would have the same cooling effect on exposed human skin as a given combination of temperature and wind speed called also chill factor windchill factor windchill index

wind chime -n

  1. a cluster of small often sculptured pieces (as of metal or glass) suspended so as to chime when blown by the wind usu. used in pl.

wind down -vi

  1. to draw gradually toward an end
    • the party was winding down
  2. relax, unwind
    • wind down with a good book
  3. to cause a gradual lessening of usu. with the intention of bringing to an end

wind·er ['wīn-dər] -n

  1. : one that winds: as
  2. a worker or machine that winds thread and yarn
  3. a key for winding a mechanism (as a clock)
  4. a step that is wider at one end than at the other (as in a spiral staircase)

wind·fall ['win(d)-,fȯl] -n

  1. something (as a tree or fruit) blown down by the wind
  2. an unexpected, unearned, or sudden gain or advantage

wind farm -n

  1. an area of land with a cluster of wind turbines for driving electrical generators

wind·flow·er [-,flau̇(-ə)r] -n

  1. anemone

wind·gall [-,gȯl] -n

  1. a soft tumor or synovial swelling on a horse's leg in the region of the fetlock joint

wind gap -n

  1. a notch in the crest of a mountain ridge : a pass not occupied by a stream

wind harp -n

  1. aeolian harp

wind·hov·er ['wind-,hə-vər, -,hä-] -n

  1. kestrel

wind·ing ['wīn-diŋ] -n

  1. material (as wire) wound or coiled about an object (as an armature)
  2. a single turn of the wound material
  3. the act of one that winds
  4. the manner of winding something
  5. a curved or sinuous course, line, or progress

winding -adj

  1. : marked by winding: as
  2. having a curved or spiral course or form
    • a winding stairway
  3. having a course that winds
    • a winding road

wind·ingsheet ['wīn-diŋ-,shēt] -n

  1. a sheet in which a corpse is wrapped

wind·ingup [,wīn-diŋ-'əp] -n

  1. the process of liquidating the assets of a partnership or corporation in order to pay creditors and make distributions to partners or shareholders upon dissolution

wind instrument -n

  1. a musical instrument (as a trumpet, clarinet, or organ) sounded by wind
  2. one sounded by the player's breath

wind·jam·mer ['win(d)-,ja-mər] -n

  1. a sailing ship
  2. one of its crew

wind·lass ['win(d)-ləs] -n

  1. : any of various machines for hoisting or hauling: as
  2. a horizontal barrel supported on vertical posts and turned by a crank so that the hoisting rope is wound around the barrel
  3. a steam or electric winch with horizontal or vertical shaft and two drums used to raise a ship's anchor

windlass -vt

  1. to hoist or haul with a windlass

win·dle·straw ['win-dᵊl-,strȯ, 'wi-nᵊl-] -n

  1. a dry thin stalk of grass

wind·mill ['win(d)-,mil] -n

  1. a mill or machine operated by the wind usu. acting on oblique vanes or sails that radiate from a horizontal shaft
  2. a wind-driven water pump or electric generator
  3. the wind-driven wheel of a windmill
  4. something that resembles or suggests a windmill
  5. a calisthenic exercise that involves alternately lowering each outstretched hand to touch the toes of the opposite foot
  6. an imaginary wrong, evil, or opponent usu. used in the phrase to tilt at windmills

windmill -vt

  1. to cause to move like a windmill
  2. to move like a windmill
  3. to spin from the force of wind

win·dow ['win-(,)dō] -n, adj

  1. an opening esp. in the wall of a building for admission of light and air that is usu. closed by casements or sashes containing transparent material (as glass) and capable of being opened and shut
  2. windowpane
  3. a space behind a window of a retail store containing displayed merchandise
  4. an opening in a partition or wall through which business is conducted
    • a bank teller's window
  5. a means of entrance or access
  6. a means of obtaining information
    • a window on history
  7. an opening (as a shutter, slot, or valve) that resembles or suggests a window
  8. the transparent panel or opening of a window envelope
  9. the framework (as a shutter or sash with its fittings) that closes a window opening
  10. chaff
  11. a range of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum to which a planet's atmosphere is transparent
  12. an interval of time within which a rocket or spacecraft must be launched to accomplish a particular mission
  13. an interval of time during which certain conditions or an opportunity exists
    • a window of vulnerability
  14. an area at the limits of the earth's sensible atmosphere through which a spacecraft must pass for successful reentry
  15. any of various rectangular boxes appearing on a computer screen that display files or program output, that can usu. be moved and resized, and that facilitate multitasking

window box -n

  1. a box designed to hold soil for growing plants at a windowsill

window dressing ['win-dō-,dres] -n, vt

  1. the display of merchandise in a retail store window
  2. the act or an instance of making something appear deceptively attractive or favorable
  3. something used to create a deceptively favorable or attractive impression

win·dowed ['win-(,)dōd, -dəd] -adj

  1. having windows esp. of a specified kind often used in combination

window envelope -n

  1. an envelope having an opening through which the address on the enclosure is visible

win·dow·pane ['win-dō-,pān, -də-] -n

  1. a pane in a window
  2. tattersall

window seat -n

  1. a seat built into a window recess
  2. a seat next to a window (as in a bus or airplane)

window shade -n

  1. a shade or curtain for a window

win·dowshop ['win-dō-,shäp, -də-] -vi, n

  1. to look at the displays in retail store windows without going inside the stores to make purchases

win·dow·sill [-,sil] -n

  1. the horizontal member at the bottom of a window opening

wind·pipe ['win(d)-,pīp] -n

  1. trachea

windpol·li·nat·ed [-'pä-lə-,nā-təd] -adj

  1. pollinated by wind-borne pollen

wind·proof [-'prüf] -adj

  1. impervious to wind
    • a windproof jacket

wind rose ['wind-,rōz] -n

  1. a diagram showing for a given place the relative frequency or frequency and strength of winds from different directions

wind·row ['win(d)-,rō] -n

  1. a row of hay raked up to dry before being baled or stored
  2. a similar row of cut vegetation (as grain) for drying
  3. a row heaped up by or as if by the wind
  4. a long low ridge of road-making material scraped to the side of a road
  5. bank, ridge, heap

windrow -vt

  1. to form (as hay) into a windrow

wind·screen ['win(d)-,skrēn] -n

  1. a screen that protects against the wind
  2. windshield

wind shake -n

  1. a shake in timber attributed to high winds

wind shear -n

  1. a radical shift in wind speed and direction that occurs over a very short distance

wind·shield ['win(d)-,shēld] -n

  1. a transparent screen (as of glass) in front of the occupants of a vehicle

wind sock -n

  1. a truncated cloth cone open at both ends and mounted in an elevated position to indicate the direction of the wind

Wind·sor chair ['win-zər-] -n

  1. a wooden chair with spindle back, raking legs, and usu. a saddle seat called also Windsor

Windsor knot -n

  1. a symmetrical necktie knot that is wider than the usual four-in-hand knot

Windsor tie -n

  1. a broad necktie usu. tied in a loose bow

wind sprint -n

  1. a sprint performed as a training exercise to develop breathing capacity esp. during exertion

wind·storm ['win(d)-,stȯrm] -n

  1. a storm marked by high wind with little or no precipitation

Wind·surf·er [-,sər-fər] -trademark

  1. used for a sailboard

wind·surf·ing [-,sər-fiŋ] -n, vi

  1. the sport or activity of riding a sailboard

wind·swept ['win(d)-,swept] -adj

  1. swept by or as if by wind

wind tee -n

  1. a large weather vane shaped like a horizontal letter T on or near a landing field

wind·throw ['win(d)-,thrō] -n

  1. the uprooting and overthrowing of trees by the wind

wind tunnel -n

  1. a tunnellike passage through which air is blown at a known velocity to investigate air flow around an object (as an airplane part or model) placed in the passage

wind turbine -n

  1. a wind-driven turbine for generating electricity

wind·up ['wīnd-,əp] -n

  1. the act of bringing to an end
  2. a concluding act or part : finish
  3. a series of regular and distinctive motions (as swinging the arms) made by a pitcher preparatory to releasing a pitch
  4. an exaggerated backswing (as in tennis)

windup -adj

  1. operated by a spring mechanism wound by hand

wind up -vt

  1. to bring to a conclusion : end
  2. to put in order for the purpose of bringing to an end
    • winds up the meeting
  3. to effectuate the winding up of
  4. to come to a conclusion
  5. to arrive in a place, situation, or condition at the end or as a result of a course of action
    • wound up as millionaires
  6. to make a pitching windup

wind·ward ['win(d)-wərd] -n

  1. the side or direction from which the wind is blowing

windward -adj

  1. being in or facing the direction from which the wind is blowing

wind·way ['win(d)-,wā] -n

  1. a passage for air (as in an organ pipe)

windy ['win-dē] -adj, adv, n

  1. windswept
    • a windy coast
  2. marked by strong wind or by more wind than usual
    • a windy day
  3. violent, stormy
  4. flatulent
    • a windy bellyache
  5. verbose, bombastic
    • a windy politician
  6. lacking substance : empty
    • windy promises
  7. winding
    • a windy path

wine ['wīn] -n

  1. the alcoholic fermented juice of fresh grapes used as a beverage
  2. wine or a substitute used in Christian communion services
  3. the alcoholic usu. fermented juice of a plant product (as a fruit) used as a beverage
    • blackberry wine
  4. something that invigorates or intoxicates
  5. a dark red
  6. to drink wine
  7. to give wine to
    • wined and dined his friends

wine cellar -n

  1. a room for storing wines
  2. a stock of wines

wine cooler -n

  1. a vessel or container in which wine is cooled
  2. a usu. carbonated beverage that contains a mixture of wine and fruit juice

wine·glass ['wīn-,glas] -n

  1. a stemware drinking glass for wine

wine·grow·er [-,grō-ər] -n

  1. a person who cultivates a vineyard and makes wine

wine·mak·er ['wīn-,mā-kər] -n

  1. a person who makes wine
  2. one who supervises the wine-making process at a winery

wine·press ['wīn-,pres] -n

  1. a vat in which juice is expressed from grapes by treading or by means of a plunger

win·ery ['wī-nə-rē, 'wīn-rē] -n

  1. a wine-making establishment

wine·sap ['wīn-,sap] -n

  1. an apple with deep red skin and juicy somewhat tart flesh

wine·shop ['wīn-,shäp] -n

  1. a tavern that specializes in serving wine

wine·skin [-,skin] -n

  1. a bag that is made from the skin of an animal (as a goat) and that is used for holding wine

wine taster -n

  1. a person who tastes and evaluates wine esp. professionally
  2. a small shallow vessel used to sample wine

win·ey ['wī-ne] -adj

  1. having the taste or qualities of wine
    • a winey sauce
  2. crisply fresh : exhilarating

wing ['wiŋ] -n, adj

  1. one of the movable feathered or membranous paired appendages by means of which a bird, bat, or insect is able to fly
  2. such an appendage even though rudimentary if possessed by an animal belonging to a group characterized by the power of flight
  3. any of various anatomical structures (as of a flying fish or flying lemur) providing means of limited flight
  4. : an appendage or part resembling a wing in appearance, position, or function: as
  5. a device worn under the arms to aid a person in swimming or staying afloat
  6. ala
  7. a turned-back or extended edge on an article of clothing
  8. a sidepiece at the top of an armchair
  9. a foliaceous, membranous, or woody expansion of a plant esp. along a stem or on a samara or capsule
  10. either of the two lateral petals of a papilionaceous flower
  11. a vane of a windmill or arrow
  12. sail
  13. an airfoil that develops a major part of the lift which supports a heavier-than-air aircraft
  14. fender
  15. a means of flight or rapid progress
  16. the act or manner of flying : flight
    • take wing
  17. a side or outlying region or district
  18. a part or feature of a building usu. projecting from and subordinate to the main or central part
    • the servants' wing
  19. one of the pieces of scenery at the side of a stage
  20. the area at the side of the stage out of sight
  21. a left or right section of an army or fleet : flank
  22. one of the offensive positions or players on either side of a center position in certain team sports
  23. flanker
  24. either of two opposing groups within an organization or society : faction
  25. a section of an organized body (as a legislative chamber) representing a group or faction holding distinct opinions or policies
  26. a unit of the U.S. Air Force higher than a group and lower than a division
  27. two or more squadrons of naval airplanes
  28. a dance step marked by a quick outward and inward rolling glide of one foot
  29. insignia consisting of an outspread pair of stylized bird's wings which are awarded on completion of prescribed training to a qualified pilot, aircrew member, or military balloon pilot
  30. to fit with wings
  31. to enable to fly or move swiftly
  32. to traverse with or as if with wings
  33. to effect or achieve by flying
  34. to let fly : dispatch
    • would start to wing punches -- A. J. Liebling
  35. to wound in the wing : disable the wing of
    • wing ed the duck
  36. to wound (as with a bullet) without killing
    • wing ed by a sniper
  37. to do or perform without preparation or guidelines : improvise
    • wing ing it
  38. to go with or as if with wings : fly often used with it
    • wing ed it to Europe

wing and wing -adv

  1. with sails extended on both sides

wing·back ['wiŋ-,bak] -n

  1. an offensive back in football who lines up outside the tight end
  2. the position of such a player

wing bar -n

  1. a line of contrasting color across the middle of a bird's wing made by markings on the wing coverts

wing case -n

  1. elytron

wing chair -n

  1. an upholstered armchair with high solid back and angled sides called also wingback chair

wing commander -n

  1. a commissioned officer in the British air force who ranks with a lieutenant colonel in the army

wing covert -n

  1. one of the feathers covering the bases of the wing quills

wing·ding ['wiŋ-,diŋ] -n

  1. a wild, lively, or lavish party

winged ['wiŋd also except for 1a(2) 'wiŋ-əd] -adj

  1. having wings
    • winged seeds
  2. having wings of a specified kind used in combination
    • strong- winged
  3. using wings in flight
  4. soaring with or as if with wings : elevated
  5. swift, rapid

winged bean ['wiŋd-] -n

  1. an Asian twining legume ( Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) cultivated in warm regions for its edible high-protein 4-winged pods
  2. its pod

winged elm -n

  1. an elm ( Ulmus alata) of the U.S. having twigs with prominent corky projections called also wahoo

wing·er ['wiŋ-ər] -n

  1. a player (as in soccer or ice hockey) in a wing position

wingfoot·ed ['wiŋ-'fu̇-təd] -adj

  1. having winged feet
  2. swift

wing·less ['wiŋ-ləs] -adj, n

  1. having no wings or very rudimentary wings

wing·let ['wiŋ-lət] -n

  1. a small wing
  2. a nearly vertical airfoil at an airplane's wingtip that reduces drag by inhibiting turbulence

wing·like [-,līk] -adj

  1. resembling a wing in form or lateral position

wing·man [-mən] -n

  1. a pilot who flies behind and outside the leader of a flying formation

wing nut -n

  1. a nut with wings that provide a grip for the thumb and finger
  2. a mentally deranged person
  3. one who advocates extreme measures or changes : radical

wing·over ['wiŋ-,ō-vər] -n

  1. a flight maneuver in which a plane is put into a climbing turn until nearly stalled after which the nose is allowed to fall while the turn is continued until normal flight is attained in a direction opposite to that in which the maneuver was entered

wing shooting -n

  1. the act or practice of shooting at game birds in flight or at flying targets

wing·span ['wiŋ-,span] -n

  1. the distance from the tip of one of a pair of wings to that of the other
  2. span

wing·spread [-,spred] -n

  1. the spread of the wings : wingspan
  2. the extreme measurement between the tips or outer margins of the wings (as of a bird or insect)

wing tip -n

  1. the edge or outer margin of a bird's wing
  2. the outer end of an airplane wing
  3. a toe cap having a point that extends back toward the throat of the shoe and curving sides that extend toward the shank
  4. a shoe having a wing tip

wink ['wiŋk] -vb

  1. to shut one eye briefly as a signal or in teasing
  2. to close and open the eyelids quickly
  3. to avoid seeing or noting something usu. used with at
  4. to gleam or flash intermittently : twinkle
    • her glasses wink ing in the sunlight -- Harper Lee
  5. to come to an end usu. used with out
  6. to stop shining usu. used with out
  7. to signal a message with a light
  8. to cause to open and shut
  9. to affect or influence by or as if by blinking the eyes
  10. a brief period of sleep : nap
    • catching a wink
  11. a hint or sign given by winking
  12. an act of winking
  13. the time of a wink : instant
    • quick as a wink
  14. a flicker of the eyelids : blink

wink·er ['wiŋ-kər] -n

  1. one that winks
  2. a horse's blinder

win·kle ['wiŋ-kəl] -n

  1. periwinkle

winkle [-k(ə-)liŋ] -vi

  1. twinkle
  2. to displace, remove, or evict from a position usu. used with out
  3. to obtain or draw out by effort usu. used with out
    • no attempt to winkle out why they do it -- Joan Bakewell

win·ner ['wi-nər] -n

  1. : one that wins: as
  2. one that is successful esp. through praiseworthy ability and hard work
  3. a victor esp. in games and sports
  4. one that wins admiration
  5. a shot in a court game that is not returned and that scores for the player making it

winner's circle -n

  1. an enclosure near a racetrack where the winning horse and jockey are brought for photographs and awards

Win·nie ['wi-nē] -n

  1. an award presented annually by a professional organization for notable achievement in fashion design

winning -n

  1. the act of one that wins : victory
  2. : something won: as
  3. a captured territory : conquest
  4. money won by success in a game or competition usu. used in pl.
  5. of or relating to winning : that wins
    • the winning ticket
  6. successful esp. in competition
    • a winning team
  7. tending to please or delight
    • a winning personality

win·ning·est -adj

  1. having achieved the most wins
    • the winningest coach in football

win·nock ['wi-nək] -n

  1. window

win·now ['wi-(,)nō] -vb, n

  1. to remove (as chaff) by a current of air
  2. to get rid of (something undesirable or unwanted) : remove often used with out
    • winnow out certain inaccuracies -- Stanley Walker
  3. separate, sift
    • an old hand at winnow ing what is true and significant -- Oscar Lewis
  4. select
  5. to treat (as grain) by exposure to a current of air so that waste matter is eliminated
  6. to free of unwanted or inferior elements : pare
  7. narrow, reduce
    • winnow ed the field to four contenders
  8. to blow on : fan
    • the wind winnow ing his thin white hair -- Time
  9. to separate chaff from grain by fanning
  10. to separate desirable and undesirable elements

winnow -n

  1. a device for winnowing
  2. the action of winnowing
  3. a motion resembling that of winnowing

wino ['wī-(,)nō] -n

  1. a usu. indigent alcoholic who is addicted esp. to wine

win·some ['win(t)-səm] -adj, adv, n

  1. generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence
    • a winsome smile
  2. cheerful, lighthearted

win·ter ['win-tər] -n

  1. the season between autumn and spring comprising in the northern hemisphere usu. the months of December, January, and February or as reckoned astronomically extending from the December solstice to the March equinox
  2. the colder half of the year
  3. year
    • happened many winter s ago
  4. a period of inactivity or decay

winter ['win-t(ə-)riŋ] -vb

  1. to pass the winter
    • winter s in the Caribbean
  2. to feed or find food during the winter used with on
  3. to keep, feed, or manage during the winter
  4. of, relating to, or suitable for winter
    • a winter vacation
    • winter clothes
  5. sown in the autumn and harvested in the following spring or summer
    • winter wheat
    • winter rye

winter aconite -n

  1. any of several low Eurasian perennial herbs (genus Eranthis,esp. E. hyemalis) of the buttercup family with solitary yellow or white flowers which often bloom through the snow

win·ter·ber·ry ['win-tər-,ber-ē] -n

  1. an eastern No. American shrub ( Ilex verticillata) of the holly family with axillary flowers, usu. bright red berries, and deciduous leaves that turn black in the fall called also black alder
  2. any of several congeneric shrubs or small trees (as Ilex laevigataof the eastern U.S.)

winter crookneck -n

  1. any of several crooknecks that are winter squashes ( Cucurbita moschata) noted for their keeping qualities

win·ter·er ['win-tər-ər] -n

  1. one that winters
  2. a winter resident or visitor

winter flounder -n

  1. a rusty-brown flounder ( Pseudopleuronectes americanusof the family Pleuronectidae) of the northwestern Atlantic important as a market fish esp. in winter

win·ter·green ['win-tər-,grēn] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Pyrolaof the family Pyrolaceae, the wintergreen family) of evergreen perennial herbs (as the shinleafs) that have basal leaves and racemose flowers
  2. any of a genus ( Gaultheria) of evergreen plants of the heath family
  3. a low creeping evergreen shrub ( G. procumbens) of No. America with white flowers and spicy red berries
  4. an essential oil from this plant
  5. the flavor of this oil
    • wintergreen lozenges

win·ter·ize ['win-tə-,rīz] -vt, n

  1. to make ready for winter or winter use and esp. resistant or proof against winter weather
    • winterize a car

win·terkill ['win-tər-,kil] -vt, n

  1. to kill (as a plant) by exposure to winter conditions
  2. to die as a result of exposure to winter conditions

win·ter·ly ['win-tər-lē] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or occurring in winter : wintry

winter melon -n

  1. any of several muskmelons (as a casaba or honeydew melon) that are fruits of a cultivated vine ( Cucumis melo indorus)
  2. a large white-fleshed melon that is the fruit of an Asian vine ( Benincasa hispida) and is used esp. in Chinese cooking

winter quarters -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. a winter residence or station (as of a military unit or a circus)

winter savory -n

  1. a perennial European mint ( Satureja montana) with leaves used for seasoning

winter squash -n

  1. any of various hard-shelled squashes that belong to cultivars derived from several species (esp. Cucurbita maxima, C. moschata,and C. pepo) and that can be stored for several months

win·ter·tide ['win-tər-,tīd] -n

  1. wintertime

win·ter·time [-,tīm] -n

  1. the season of winter

win through -vi

  1. to survive difficulties and reach a desired or satisfactory end
    • win through to a better life beyond -- B. F. Reilly

win·tle ['wi-nᵊl, 'win-tᵊl] -vi

  1. stagger, reel
  2. wriggle

win·try ['win-trē] -adj, n

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of winter
  2. weathered by or as if by winter : aged, hoary
  3. cheerless, chilling
    • a wintry greeting

winwin ['win-'win, -,win] -adj

  1. advantageous or satisfactory to all parties involved
    • a winwin situation
    • a winwin deal

winy ['wī-ne] -adj

(variant of winey)

  1. having the taste or qualities of wine
    • a winey sauce
  2. crisply fresh : exhilarating

winze ['winz] -n

  1. a steeply inclined passageway in a mine
  2. curse

wipe ['wīp] -vb

  1. to rub with or as if with something soft for cleaning
  2. to clean or dry by rubbing
  3. to draw, pass, or move for or as if for rubbing or cleaning
    • wiped his hand across his brow
  4. to remove by or as if by rubbing
    • wipe the spots off the glass
  5. to expunge completely
    • wipe from memory the gruesome scenes -- Amer. Guide Series: Del.
  6. to spread by or as if by wiping
  7. to make a motion of or as if of wiping something
  8. blow, strike
  9. jeer, gibe
  10. an act or instance of wiping
  11. a transition from one scene or picture to another (as in movies or television) made by a line moving across the screen
  12. something (as a towel) used for wiping

wiped out -adj

  1. intoxicated, high
  2. extremely tired : exhausted

wipe·out ['wīp-,au̇t] -n

  1. the act or an instance of wiping out : complete or utter destruction
  2. a fall or crash caused usu. by losing control
  3. a total or decisive defeat : drubbing

wipe out -vt

  1. to destroy completely : annihilate
  2. to fall or crash usu. as a result of losing control

wip·er ['wī-pər] -n

  1. a person who wipes
  2. something (as a towel or sponge) used for wiping
  3. a moving contact for making connections with the terminals of an electrical device (as a rheostat)
  4. a usu. motor-driven arm with a flexible blade for wiping a window (as the windshield of an automobile or airplane)

wire ['wī(-ə)r] -n, adj

  1. metal in the form of a usu. very flexible thread or slender rod
  2. a thread or rod of such material
  3. wirework
  4. the meshwork of parallel or woven wire on which the wet web of paper forms
  5. something (as a thin plant stem) that is wirelike
  6. a system of wires used to operate the puppets in a puppet show
  7. hidden influences controlling the action of a person or organization
  8. a line of wire for conducting electric current
  9. a telephone or telegraph wire or system
  10. wire service
  11. telegram, cablegram
  12. fencing or a fence of usu. barbed wire
  13. the finish line of a race
  14. the final decisive moment (as of a contest)
    • the negotiations came down to the wire
  15. wirehair
  16. to provide with wire : use wire on for a specific purpose
  17. to send or send word to by telegraph
  18. to connect by or as if by a wire
  19. to predispose, determine, or establish genetically or innately
    • controversy over the extent to which human violence is wired biologically
  20. to send a telegraphic message

wire cloth -n

  1. a fabric of woven metallic wire (as for strainers)

wired -adj

  1. reinforced by wire (as for strength)
  2. furnished with wires (as for electric connections)
  3. connected to a telecommunications network and esp. to the Internet
  4. characterized by a connection to the Internet
    • the wired world
  5. bound with wire
    • a wired container
  6. having a wirework netting or fence
  7. feverishly excited

wire·draw ['wī(-ə)r-,drȯ] -vt, n

  1. to draw or stretch forcibly : elongate
  2. to draw or spin out to great length, tenuity, or overrefinement : attenuate

wire·drawn [-,drȯn] -adj

  1. excessively minute and subtle
    • curious speculations, wiredrawn comparisons, obsolete erudition -- Virginia Woolf

wire fox terrier -n

  1. any of a breed of fox terriers having a dense wiry chiefly white coat

wire fraud -n

  1. fraud committed using a means of electronic communication (as a telephone or computer)

wire gauge -n

  1. a gauge esp. for measuring the diameter of wire or the thickness of sheet metal
  2. any of various systems consisting of a series of standard sizes used in describing the diameter of wire or the thickness of sheet metal

wire gauze -n

  1. a gauzelike wire cloth

wire grass -n

  1. : any of various grasses or rushes having wiry culms or leaves: as
  2. a Eurasian slender-stemmed meadow grass ( Poa compressa) widely naturalized in the U.S. and Canada
  3. any of several coarse grasses (genus Aristida) with a 3-awned lemma that grow extensively in open dry, sandy, or sterile areas esp. of the southeastern and south-central U.S.

wire·hair ['wī(-ə)r-,her] -n

  1. a wirehaired dog or cat

wire·haired [-'herd] -adj

  1. having a stiff wiry outer coat of hair
    • a wirehaired dog

wirehaired pointing griffon -n

  1. any of a breed of dogs of Dutch origin that both hunt and retrieve and have a long head and a harsh wiry often chestnut or white and chestnut colored coat

wirehaired terrier -n

  1. wire fox terrier

wire·less ['wī(-ə)r-ləs] -adj, adv

  1. having no wire or wires
  2. operating by means of transmitted electromagnetic waves
    • a wireless remote
  3. of or relating to radiotelephony, radiotelegraphy, or radio
    • a wireless phone
  4. of or relating to data communications using radio waves
    • wireless Internet access

wireless -n

  1. telecommunication (as radiotelegraphy or radiotelephony) involving signals transmitted by radio waves rather than over wires
  2. the technology used in radio telecommunication
  3. radio

wireless telegraphy -n

  1. telegraphy carried on by radio waves and without connecting wires called also wireless telegraph

wireless telephone -n

  1. radiotelephone

wire·man ['wī(-ə)r-mən] -n

  1. a maker of or worker with wire
  2. lineman
  3. wiretapper

wire netting -n

  1. a wire cloth coarser than wire gauze

wire·pho·to ['wī(-ə)r-'fō-(,)tō] -n

  1. a photograph transmitted by electrical signals over telephone wires

wirepull·er [-,pu̇-lər] -n

  1. one who uses secret or underhanded means to influence the acts of a person or organization

wire recorder -n

  1. a magnetic recorder using a thin wire as the recording medium

wire rope -n

  1. a rope formed wholly or chiefly of wires

wire service -n

  1. a news agency that sends out syndicated news copy to subscribers by wire or by satellite transmission

wire·tap ['wī(-ə)r-,tap] -vi

  1. to tap a telephone or telegraph wire in order to get information
  2. to tap the telephone of

wiretap -n

  1. the act or an instance of wiretapping
  2. an electrical connection for wiretapping

wire·tap·per [-,ta-pər] -n

  1. one that taps telephone or telegraph wires

wire·work [-,wərk] -n

  1. a work of wires
  2. meshwork, netting, or grillwork of wire
    • plan the wirework for new circuitry
  3. walking on wires esp. by acrobats

wire·worm [-,wərm] -n

  1. any of the slender hard-coated larvae of various click beetles that include some destructive esp. to plant roots

wiring -n

  1. the act of providing or using wire
  2. a system of wires
  3. an arrangement of wires used for electric distribution

wir·ra ['wir-ə] -interj

  1. usu. used to express lament, grief, or concern

wiry ['wī(-ə)r-ē] -adj, adv, n

  1. made of wire
  2. resembling wire esp. in form and flexibility
    • the wiry coat of the Irish terrier
    • wiry stems
  3. produced by or suggestive of the vibration of wire
    • the violinist...often let his tone go nasal and wiry -- D. J. Henahan
  4. being lean, supple, and vigorous : sinewy
    • the wiry figure of a long-distance runner -- Phoenix Flame

wis ['wis] -vb

  1. know

Wis -abbr

  1. Wisconsin

Wisd -abbr

  1. Wisdom

wis·dom ['wiz-dəm] -n

  1. accumulated philosophic or scientific learning : knowledge
  2. ability to discern inner qualities and relationships : insight
  3. good sense : judgment
  4. generally accepted belief
    • challenges what has become accepted wisdom among many historians -- Robert Darnton
  5. a wise attitude, belief, or course of action
  6. the teachings of the ancient wise men

Wisdom -n

  1. a didactic book included in the Roman Catholic canon of the Old Testament and corresponding to the Wisdom of Solomon in the Protestant Apocrypha

Wisdom of Sol·o·mon [-'sä-lə-mən]

  1. a didactic book included in the Protestant Apocrypha

wisdom tooth -n

  1. the third molar that is the last tooth to erupt on each side of the upper and lower jaws in humans

wise ['wīz] -n

  1. manner, way
    • in any wise
  2. characterized by wisdom : marked by deep understanding, keen discernment, and a capacity for sound judgment
  3. exercising or showing sound judgment : prudent
    • a wise investor
  4. evidencing or hinting at the possession of inside information : knowing
  5. possessing inside information
    • the police got wise to his whereabouts
  6. crafty, shrewd
  7. aware of or informed about a particular matter usu. used in the comparative in negative constructions with the
    • was none the wiser about their plans
  8. skilled in magic or divination
  9. insolent, smart-alecky, fresh
    • a tough kid with a wise mouth
  10. to give instruction or information to : teach usu. used with up
    • wise him up about procedures
  11. to become informed or knowledgeable : learn used with up
  12. direct, guide
  13. advise, persuade
  14. to divert or impel in a given direction : send

wise·acre ['wīz-,ā-kər] -n

  1. one who pretends to knowledge or cleverness
  2. smart aleck

wise·ass ['wīz-,as] -n, adj

  1. smart aleck

wise·crack ['wīz-,krak] -n

  1. a clever or sarcastic remark

wisecrack -vi, n

  1. to make a wisecrack

wisedup ['wīzd-'əp] -adj

  1. knowing

wise guy ['wīz-,gī] -n

  1. smart aleck
  2. mobster

wise man -n

  1. a man of unusual learning, judgment, or insight : sage
  2. a man versed in esoteric lore (as of magic or astrology)
  3. magus

wi·sen·hei·mer ['wī-zᵊn-,hī-mər] -n

  1. smart aleck

wi·sent ['vē-,zent] -n

  1. a European bison ( Bison bonasus) sometimes considered conspecific with the No. American buffalo ( B. bison) called also aurochs

wise·wom·an ['wīz-,wu̇-mən] -n

  1. a woman versed in charms, conjuring, or fortune-telling

wish ['wish] -vb, n

  1. to have a desire for (as something unattainable)
    • wish ed he could live his life over
  2. to give expression to as a wish : bid
    • wish them good night
  3. to give form to (a wish)
  4. to express a wish for
  5. to request in the form of a wish : order
  6. to desire (a person or thing) to be as specified
    • cannot wish our problems away
  7. to confer (something unwanted) on someone : foist
  8. to have a desire : want
    • wish ing for more
  9. to make a wish
    • wish on a falling star
  10. an act or instance of wishing or desire : want
    • a wish to travel
  11. an object of desire : goal
  12. an expressed will or desire : mandate
  13. a request or command couched as a wish
  14. an invocation of good or evil fortune on someone

wisha ['wi-shə] -interj

  1. used as an intensive or to express surprise

wish·bone ['wish-,bōn] -n

  1. a forked bone in front of the breastbone in a bird consisting chiefly of the two clavicles fused at their median or lower end
  2. a variation of the T formation in which the halfbacks line up farther from the line of scrimmage than the fullback does

wish·ful ['wish-fəl] -adj, adv, n

  1. expressive of a wish : hopeful
    • looked at the toys with wishful eyes
  2. having a wish : desirous
  3. according with wishes rather than reality
    • wishful dreams

wish fulfillment -n

  1. the gratification of a desire esp. symbolically (as in dreams, daydreams, or neurotic symptoms)

wishful thinking -n

  1. the attribution of reality to what one wishes to be true or the tenuous justification of what one wants to believe

wish·ing ['wi-shiŋ] -adj

  1. wishful
  2. regarded as having the power to grant wishes
    • threw a coin in the wishing well

wish list -n

  1. a list of desired but often realistically unobtainable items
    • a wish list of useful changes

wishwash ['wish-,wȯsh, -,wäsh] -n

  1. a weak drink
  2. insipid talk or writing

wishywashy ['wi-shē-,wȯ-shē, -,wä-] -adj, n

  1. lacking in character or determination : ineffectual
    • wishywashy leadership
  2. lacking in strength or flavor : weak
    • wishywashy wines

wisp ['wisp] -n, adv, adj

  1. a small handful (as of hay or straw)
  2. a thin strip or fragment
  3. a thready streak
    • a wisp of smoke
  4. something frail, slight, or fleeting
    • a wisp of a girl
    • a wisp of a smile
  5. will-o'-the-wisp
  6. to roll into a wisp
  7. to make wisps of
    • a cigarette wisp ing smoke at the corner of his mouth -- Raymond Chandler
  8. to emerge or drift in wisps
    • her hair began to wisp into her eyes -- Mary Manning

wisp·ish ['wis-pish] -adj

  1. resembling a wisp : insubstantial

wist ['wist] -vt

  1. know

wis·te·ria [wis-'tir-ē-ə] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Wisteria) of mostly woody leguminous vines of China, Japan, and the southeastern U.S. that have pinnately compound leaves and long racemes of showy blue, white, purple, or rose papilionaceous flowers and that include several (as W. sinensisand W. floribunda) grown as ornamentals

wist·ful ['wist-fəl] -adj, adv, n

  1. full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy
  2. inspiring such yearning
    • a wistful memoir
  3. musingly sad : pensive
    • a wistful glance

wit ['wit] -vb

  1. know
  2. to come to know : learn
  3. mind, memory
  4. reasoning power : intelligence
  5. sense usu. used in pl.
    • alone and warming his five wit s, the white owl in the belfry sits -- Alfred Tennyson
  6. mental soundness : sanity usu. used in pl.
  7. mental capability and resourcefulness : ingenuity
  8. astuteness of perception or judgment : acumen
  9. the ability to relate seemingly disparate things so as to illuminate or amuse
  10. a talent for banter or persiflage
  11. a witty utterance or exchange
  12. clever or apt humor
  13. a person of superior intellect : thinker
  14. an imaginatively perceptive and articulate individual esp. skilled in banter or persiflage

wi·tan ['wi-,tän] -n pl

  1. members of the witenagemot

witch ['wich] -n, adj

  1. one that is credited with usu. malignant supernatural powers
  2. a woman practicing usu. black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar : sorceress
  3. an ugly old woman : hag
  4. a charming or alluring girl or woman
  5. a practitioner of Wicca
  6. witch of agnesi
  7. to affect injuriously with witchcraft
  8. to influence or beguile with allure or charm
  9. dowse

witch·craft ['wich-,kraft] -n

  1. the use of sorcery or magic
  2. communication with the devil or with a familiar
  3. an irresistible influence or fascination
  4. wicca

witch doctor -n

  1. a professional worker of magic usu. in a primitive society who often works to cure sickness

witch·ery ['wi-chə-rē, 'wich-rē] -n

  1. the practice of witchcraft : sorcery
  2. an act of witchcraft
  3. an irresistible fascination

witches' brew -n

  1. a potent or fearsome mixture
    • a witches' brew of untamed sex and brutality -- Harrison Smith

witch·es'broom ['wi-chəz-,brüm, -,bru̇m] -n

  1. an abnormal tufted growth of small branches on a tree or shrub caused esp. by parasitic organisms (as fungi, viruses, or aphids)

witches' Sabbath -n

  1. a midnight assembly of witches, devils, and sorcerers for the celebration of rites and orgies

witch·grass ['wich-,gras] -n

  1. quack grass
  2. a No. American grass ( Panicum capillare) with slender brushy panicles that is often a weed on cultivated land

witch ha·zel ['wich-,hā-zəl] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Hamamelisof the family Hamamelidaceae, the witch-hazel family) of shrubs or small trees with slender-petaled usu. yellow flowers borne in late fall or early spring
  2. one ( H. virginiana) of eastern No. America that blooms in the fall
  3. an alcoholic solution of a distillate of the bark of a witch hazel ( H. virginiana) used as a soothing and mildly astringent lotion

witch hunt -n, n or adj

  1. a searching out for persecution of persons accused of witchcraft
  2. the searching out and deliberate harassment of those (as political opponents) with unpopular views

witch·ing ['wi-chiŋ] -n

  1. the practice of witchcraft : sorcery

witching -adj

  1. of, relating to, or suitable for sorcery or supernatural occurrences
    • the very witching time of night -- Shak.

witch of Agne·si [-än-'yā-zē] -n

  1. a plane cubic curve that is symmetric about the y-axis and approaches the x-axis as an asymptote and that has the equation x 2 y 4 a 2(2 a y)

witch·weed ['wich-,wēd] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Striga) of yellow-flowered Old World plants of the snapdragon family that are damaging root parasites of grasses (as sorghum and maize) and that include one ( S. asiatica) which is an introduced pest in parts of the southeastern U.S.

wite ['wīt] -vt

  1. blame
  2. blame, responsibility

wi·te·na·ge·mot ['wi-tə-nə-gə-,mōt, -yə-,mōt] -n

  1. an Anglo-Saxon council made up of a varying number of nobles, prelates, and influential officials and convened from time to time to advise the king on administrative and judicial matters

with ['with, 'with, wəth, wəth] -prep

  1. in opposition to : against
    • had a fight with his brother
  2. so as to be separated or detached from
    • broke with her family
  3. used as a function word to indicate a participant in an action, transaction, or arrangement
    • works with his father
    • a talk with a friend
    • got into an accident with the car
  4. used as a function word to indicate the object of attention, behavior, or feeling
    • get tough with him
    • angry with her
  5. in respect to : so far as concerns
    • on friendly terms with all nations
  6. used to indicate the object of an adverbial expression of imperative force
    • off with his head
  7. over, on
    • no longer has any influence with them
  8. in the performance, operation, or use of
    • the trouble with this machine
  9. used as a function word to indicate the object of a statement of comparison or equality
    • a dress identical with her hostess's
  10. used as a function word to express agreement or sympathy
    • must conclude, with you, that the painting is a forgery
  11. on the side of : for
    • if he's for lower taxes, I'm with him
  12. as well as
    • can pitch with the best of them
  13. used as a function word to indicate combination, accompaniment, presence, or addition
    • heat milk with honey
    • went there with her
    • his money, with his wife's, comes to a million
  14. inclusive of
    • costs 5 with the tax
  15. in the judgment or estimation of
    • stood well with her classmates
  16. in or according to the experience or practice of
    • with many of us, our ideas seem to fall by the wayside -- W. J. Reilly
  17. used as a function word to indicate the means, cause, agent, or instrumentality
    • hit him with a rock
    • pale with anger
    • threatened with tuberculosis
    • he amused the crowd with his antics
  18. by the direct act of
  19. used as a function word to indicate manner of action
    • ran with effort
    • acknowledge your contribution with thanks
  20. used as a function word to indicate an attendant fact or circumstance
    • stood there with his hat on
  21. used as a function word to indicate a result attendant on a specified action
    • got off with a light sentence
  22. in possession of : having
    • came with good news
  23. in the possession or care of
    • left the money with her mother
  24. characterized or distinguished by
    • a person with a sharp nose
  25. used as a function word to indicate a close association in time
    • with the outbreak of war they went home
    • mellows with time
  26. in proportion to
    • the pressure varies with the depth
  27. in spite of : notwithstanding
    • a really tip-top man, with all his wrongheadedness -- H. J. Laski
  28. except for
    • finds that, with one group of omissions and one important addition, they reflect that curriculum -- Gilbert Highet
  29. in the direction of
    • with the wind
    • with the grain

with·al [wi-'thȯl, -'thȯl] -adv

  1. together with this : besides
    • a supporter of all constructive work and withal an excellent businessman -- A. W. Long
  2. therewith
  3. on the other hand : nevertheless

withal -prep

  1. with used postpositively with a relative or interrogative pronoun as object

with·draw [with-'drȯ, with-] -vb, adj

  1. to take back or away : remove
    • pressure upon educational administrators to withdraw academic credit -- J. W. Scott
  2. to remove from use or cultivation
  3. to remove (money) from a place of deposit
  4. to turn away (as the eyes) from an object of attention
    • withdrew her gaze
  5. to draw (as a curtain) back or aside
  6. to remove from consideration or set outside a group
    • withdrew his name from the list of nominees
    • withdrew their child from the school
  7. take back, retract
  8. to recall or remove (a motion) under parliamentary procedure
  9. to move back or away : retire
  10. to draw back from a battlefield : retreat
  11. to remove oneself from participation
  12. to become socially or emotionally detached
    • had withdrawn farther and farther into herself -- Ethel Wilson
  13. to recall a motion under parliamentary procedure

with·draw·al [-'drȯ(-ə)l] -n

  1. the act of taking back or away something that has been granted or possessed
  2. removal from a place of deposit or investment
  3. the discontinuance of administration or use of a drug
  4. the syndrome of often painful physical and psychological symptoms that follows discontinuance of an addicting drug
    • a heroin addict going through withdrawal
  5. retreat or retirement esp. into a more secluded or less exposed place or position
  6. an operation by which a military force disengages from the enemy
  7. social or emotional detachment
  8. a pathological retreat from objective reality (as in some schizophrenic states)
  9. retraction, revocation
    • threatened us with withdrawal of consent
  10. the act of drawing someone or something back from or out of a place or position
  11. coitus interruptus

withdrawing room -n

  1. a room to retire to (as from a dining room)
  2. drawing room

with·drawn [with-'drȯn, with-] -adj, n

  1. removed from immediate contact or easy approach : isolated
  2. socially detached and unresponsive : exhibiting withdrawal : introverted
    • a shy and withdrawn child

withe ['with, 'with, 'wīth] -n

  1. a slender flexible branch or twig
  2. one used as a band or line

with·er ['wi-thər] -vb

  1. to become dry and sapless
  2. to shrivel from or as if from loss of bodily moisture
  3. to lose vitality, force, or freshness
    • public support for the bill is wither ing
  4. to cause to wither
  5. to make speechless or incapable of action : stun
    • wither ed him with a look -- Dorothy Sayers

wither -n

  1. withers

withering ['with-riŋ-lē, 'wi-thə-] -adj, adv

  1. acting or serving to cut down or destroy : devastating
    • a withering fire from the enemy
    • a withering rebuke

with·er·ite ['wi-thə-,rīt] -n

  1. a translucent white or gray orthorhombic mineral consisting of a carbonate of barium

withe rod -n

  1. a viburnum ( Viburnum cassinoides) of eastern No. America with tough slender shoots

with·ers ['wi-thərz] -n pl

  1. the ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse
  2. a part corresponding to the withers in a quadruped (as a dog) other than a horse

withershins ['wi-dər-shənz] -adv

(variant of widdershins)

  1. in a left-handed, wrong, or contrary direction : counterclockwise

with·hold [with-'hōld, with-] -vb, n

  1. to hold back from action : check
  2. to keep in custody
  3. to refrain from granting, giving, or allowing
    • withhold permission
  4. to deduct (withholding tax) from income
  5. forbear, refrain
    • withhold from commenting

withholding tax -n

  1. a deduction (as from wages, fees, or dividends) levied at a source of income as advance payment on income tax

with·in [wi-'thin, -'thin] -adv

  1. in or into the interior : inside
  2. in one's inner thought, disposition, or character : inwardly
    • search within for a creative impulse -- Kingman Brewster 1988

within -prep

  1. used as a function word to indicate enclosure or containment
  2. used as a function word to indicate situation or circumstance in the limits or compass of: as
  3. before the end of
    • gone within a week
  4. not beyond the quantity, degree, or limitations of
    • live within your income
  5. in or into the scope or sphere of
    • within the jurisdiction of the state
  6. in or into the range of
    • within reach
    • within sight
  7. used as a function word to indicate a specified difference or margin
    • came within two points of a perfect mark
    • within a mile of the town
  8. to the inside of : into
    • sunk the sea within the earth -- Shak.
  9. an inner place or area
    • revolt from within
  10. being inside : enclosed
    • the within indictment

with·in·doors [wi-,thin-'dōrz, -,thin-, -'dȯrz] -adv

  1. indoors

withit ['wi-thət, -thət] -adj

  1. socially or culturally up-to-date
    • the intelligent, disaffected, withit young -- Eliot Fremont-Smith

with·out [wi-'thau̇t, -'thau̇t] -prep

  1. outside
  2. used as a function word to indicate the absence or lack of something or someone
    • fight without fear
    • left without him
    • looks without seeing

without -adv

  1. on the outside : externally
  2. with something lacking or absent
    • has learned to do without
  3. unless
    • you don't know about me without you have read a book -- Mark Twain
  4. an outer place or area
    • came from without

with·out·doors [wi-,thau̇t-'dȯrz, -,thau̇t-] -adv

  1. outdoors

with·stand [with-'stand, with-] -vt

  1. to stand up against : oppose with firm determination
  2. to resist successfully
  3. to be proof against : resist the effect of
    • withstand the impact of a landing -- Current Biog.
  4. to stop or obstruct the course of

withy ['wi-thē] -n

  1. willow
  2. osier
  3. a flexible slender twig or branch (as of osier) : withe
  4. flexibly tough

wit·less ['wit-ləs] -adj, adv, n

  1. destitute of wit or understanding : foolish
  2. mentally deranged : crazy
    • drive one witless with anxiety -- William Styron

wit·ling [-liŋ] -n

  1. a would-be wit
  2. a person of little wit

wit·loof ['wit-,lōf, -,lüf] -n

  1. chicory
  2. belgian endive

wit·ness ['wit-nəs] -n

  1. attestation of a fact or event : testimony
  2. one that gives evidence
  3. one who testifies in a cause or before a judicial tribunal
  4. one asked to be present at a transaction so as to be able to testify to its having taken place
  5. one who has personal knowledge of something
  6. something serving as evidence or proof : sign
  7. public affirmation by word or example of usu. religious faith or conviction
    • the heroic witness to divine life -- Pilot
  8. a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses

witness -vt

  1. to testify to : attest
  2. to act as legal witness of
  3. to furnish proof of : betoken
  4. to have personal or direct cognizance of : see for oneself
    • witness ed the historic event
  5. to take note of
    • our grammar- witness our verb system-is a marvel of flexibility, variety, and exactitude -- Charlton Laird
  6. to constitute the scene or time of
    • structures...which this striking Dorset hilltop once witness ed -- Times Lit. Supp.
  7. to bear witness : testify
  8. to bear witness to one's religious convictions
    • opportunity to witness for Christ -- Billy Graham

wit·nessbox [-,bäks] -n

  1. an enclosure in which a witness sits or stands while testifying in court

witness stand -n

  1. a stand or an enclosure from which a witness gives evidence in a court

wit·ted ['wi-təd] -adj

  1. having wit or understanding usu. used in combination
    • dull- witted
    • quick- witted

wit·ti·cism ['wi-tə-,si-zəm] -n

  1. a cleverly witty and often biting or ironic remark

wit·ting ['wi-tᵊn, -tiŋ] -n

  1. knowledge or awareness of something : cognizance
  2. information obtained or communicated : news
  3. cognizant or aware of something : conscious
    • a witting participant
  4. done deliberately : intentional
    • a witting violation

wit·tol ['wi-tᵊl] -n

  1. a man who knows of his wife's infidelity and puts up with it
  2. a witless person

wit·ty ['wi-tē] -adj, adv, n

  1. having good intellectual capacity : intelligent
  2. amusingly or ingeniously clever in conception or execution
    • the costumes are sumptuous and witty -- Virgil Thomson
    • the musical background is...often witty -- Wolcott Gibbs
  3. marked by or full of wit : smartly facetious or jocular
    • a witty novel
  4. quick or ready to see or express illuminating or amusing relationships or insights
    • a witty raconteur

wive ['wīv] -vb

  1. to marry a woman
  2. to marry to a woman
  3. to take for a wife

wives ['wīf] -n, adj

(variant of wife)

  1. woman
  2. a woman acting in a specified capacity used in combination
    • fish wife
  3. a female partner in a marriage

wiz ['wiz] -n

  1. wizard

wiz·ard ['wi-zərd] -n

  1. a wise man : sage
  2. one skilled in magic : sorcerer
  3. a very clever or skillful person
    • computer wizard s

wizard -adj

  1. having magical influence or power
  2. of or relating to wizardry : enchanted
  3. worthy of the highest praise : excellent

wiz·ard·ly ['wi-zərd-lē] -adj

  1. having characteristics of a wizard
  2. marvelous in construction or operation
    • uses wizardly circuitry to distort images -- Time

wiz·ard·ry ['wi-zə(r)-drē] -n

  1. the art or practices of a wizard : sorcery
  2. a seemingly magical transforming power or influence
    • electronic wizardry
  3. great skill or cleverness in an activity
    • showed real wizardry in legal maneuvering

wiz·en ['wi-zᵊn also 'wē-] -vb

  1. to become dry, shrunken, and wrinkled often as a result of aging or of failing vitality
  2. to cause to wizen
    • a face wizen ed by age

wizen -adj

  1. that is wizened