whirl, whirled, whirling, whirls.verbs
intransitive verb use.to revolve.rapidly.about a center or an axis; to turn; to rotate or spin rapidly (the whirling dervish dancer whirled across the stage); to turn rapidly, changing direction (she whirled around to face him); to reel (the computers are whirling with data); to move circularly and rapidly in varied, random directions (the wind whirled across the steppes)
transitive verb use.to cause to rotate or turn rapidly (whirl a baton); twirl; to move or drive in a circular or curving course
whirl.noun,.plural.whirls
the act of rotating or revolving rapidly; something, such as a cloud of dust, that whirls or is whirled; a short trip or ride (we took a whirl up to see the mountains last Sunday); a brief or experimental.try (let's give the plan a whirl)
whirler.noun,.plural.whirlers

whirlwind.noun,.plural.whirlwinds
a rapidly rotating, generally.vertical.column of air, such as a tornado, dust devil or waterspout; a tumultuous, confused rush (our holiday was fast and friendly, but with little time to think); a destructive force or thing (the fire came over the hill at whirlwind speed)
whirlwind.adjective
tumultuous or rapid (a whirlwind bus trip)

wool.noun,.plural.wools
the soft thick hair that sheep, some goats and alpaca have on their body; lambswool; a fabric or yarn made from this dense, soft wool; wool from such as the goat and alpaca, consists of cylindrical.fibers of keratin covered by minute.overlapping.scales and much valued as a textile fabric; a material or garment made of this hair
wool.adjective
date, before 12th century, from Middle English 'wolle' which is from Old English 'wull'
woolen.adjective
made or consisting of wool; of or relating to the production or marketing of woolen goods (a pure wool skirt; a pure wool blanket)
woolen.noun,.plural.woolens
fabric or clothing made from wool; thread made from wool that you use to knit.clothes; yarn

worm.noun,.plural.worms
a long thin creature with no bones and no legs that lives in soil; the spirally.threaded.shaft of a worm gear
Pathology:.in pathology, an infestation of the intestines or other parts of the body with worms or wormlike parasites
Computers:.in computers, a program that replicates itself and interferes with software.function, destroying information
worm, wormed, worming, worms.verbs
transitive verb use.to make one's way with or as if with the sinuous crawling motion of a worm; to work one's way or oneself subtly or gradually; insinuate (Delilah wormed her way into Samson's confidence); to elicit by devious.means; to cure of intestinal worms
intransitive verb use.to move in a manner.suggestive of a worm; to make one's way by devious means; from Middle English and that from Old English 'wurm', variant of 'wyrm'
can of worms.idiom
if you say that someone is opening a can of worms, you are warning them that they are planning to do or talk about something which is much more complicated, unpleasant or difficult than they realize and which might be better left alone
wormed their way.idiom
to move through a small place or a crowd slowly, carefully or with difficulty, but with stealth; to gradually make someone trust you by being dishonest worm her way into Samson's trust:.Judges 16:4-31); 'wormed your way' is to avoid doing something that you have been asked to do by making an excuse that is dishonest but clever (she wormed her way out of going to the concert)

whiff.noun,.plural.whiffs
a very slight.smell of something for a brief.period of time (as she walked past, I caught a whiff of her perfume); a minute.trace
whiff, whiffed, whiffing, whiffs.verbs
intransitive verb use.to be carried in brief gusts; waft (puffs of smoke whiffing from the chimney)
transitive verb use.to blow or convey in whiffs; to inhale through the nose; sniff (a dog whiffing the air); perhaps.alteration of Middle English 'weffe' meaning 'offensive smell'
whiffer.noun,.plural.whiffers

wire.noun,.plural.wires
thin metal in the form of a thread or a piece of copper wire or a wire fence; a group of wire strands.bundled.or.twisted together as a functional.unit; a cable; a cord; fencing usually made of wire
wire, wired, wiring, wires.verbs
transitive verb use.to bind, connect or attach with wires or a wire; to equip with a system of electrical wires
intransitive verb use.to send a wire; if you wire an amount of money to an individual or place, you tell a bank to send it to the individual or place using a wired message (I'm wiring you some money); if you wire something such as a building or piece of equipment, you put wires inside it so that electricity or signals can pass into or through it (she learnt to wire and plumb the house herself)
wirable.adjective
get your wires crossed
to become confused about what someone is saying because you think they are talking about something else
go/come/be down to the wire
until the last minute; to be finished or achieved with little time left (the game was very close and went right down to the wire)

wiener.noun,.plural.wieners
a frankfurter; German, short for wienerwurst
wienerwurst.noun,.plural.wienerwursts
a smoked pork or beef sausage similar to a frankfurter; from German 'Wiener', of the city of Vienna in Austria (map) plus 'Wurst' meaning 'sausage'; a sausage from that region

whicker, whickered, whickering, whickers.intransitive verbs
to whinny
whicker.noun,.plural.whickers
a whinny

wicker.noun,.plural.wickers
thin dry branches or reeds that are woven together (a wicker basket; wicker furniture); wicker is a flexible plant branch or twig, such as of a willow, used in weaving baskets or furniture called rattan
wickerwork.noun,.plural.wickerworks
work made of interlaced plant branches or twigs

whew.interjection
a sound one may make used to express strong emotion, such as relief or amazement; used when you are surprised, very hot or feeling glad that something bad did not happen (whew! it's hot out there; whew, that was a whirlwind experience); date 1400-1500

wet, wetter, wettest.adjective
covered or soaked with a liquid, such as water; not yet dry or firm (wet paint); rainy, humid or foggy (wet weather); characterized by frequent or heavy precipitation (a wet climate)
wet.noun,.plural.wets
something that wets; moisture; rainy or snowy weather (going out into the wet)
wet, wet.or.wetted, wetting, wets.verbs
transitive verb use.to make wet; dampen (wet a sponge)
intransitive verb use.to become wet
all wet.idiom
entirely mistaken
wet behind the ears.idiom
inexperienced; green (we have two new guys starting today, both green, but one a bit more experienced than the other)
wet one's whistle.idiom
to take a drink

wife.noun,.plural.wives
the original word meaning; a female spouse
wifehood.noun
being in an ongoing.relationship of love with a man

witness.noun,.plural.witnesses
one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard or experienced (a witness to the accident; a witness of the resurrection:.Acts 4:33 "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Emmanuel and great grace was upon them all."); an attestation to a fact, a statement or an event; testimony
witness, witnessed, witnessing, witnesses.verbs
transitive verb use.to be present at or have personal knowledge of; to take note of; observe; to indicate; to be the setting or site of (this old church has witnessed many ceremonies)
intransitive verb use.to furnish or serve.as.evidence; testify; to give a testimony of how one's life brought him or her to becoming a believer in the things of God
witnesser.noun,.plural.witnessers

war.noun,.plural.wars
a state of open, armed, often prolonged.conflict carried on between nations, states or parties; a condition of active antagonism or contention (a war of words; a price war between grocery stores)
war, warred, warring, wars.intransitive verbs
inciting warfare; contend
Word history: a piece of liverwurst, a sausage containing ground liver, may help us gain some insight into the nature of war, at least into the semantic history of the word war. The word 'war' and the 'wurst' part of 'liverwurst' can be traced back to the same Indo-European root 'wers' meaning 'to confuse', 'mix up'. In the Germanic family of the Indo-European languages, this root gave rise to several words having to do with confusion or mixture of various kinds. In the case of the ancestry of war, the hypothetical Germanic stem 'werza' meaning 'confusion' became 'werra' which passed into Old French, a language descended from spoken Latin but supplemented by more than 200 words borrowed from the Frankish invaders of the 5th century A.D. From the Germanic stem came both the form 'werre' in Old North French, the form borrowed into English in the 12th century and 'guerre' (the source of the word 'guerilla') in the rest of the Old French speaking area. Both forms meant 'war', a very confused condition indeed. Meanwhile another Indo-European form derived from the same Indo-European root had developed into Old High German 'wurst' meaning 'sausage' from an underlying sense of 'mixture' which is, of course, related to the sense of the root 'to confuse', 'mix up'. Modern German 'wurst' was borrowed into English in the 19th century, first by itself (recorded in 1855) and then as part of the word 'liverwurst' (1869), the liver being a translation of German 'leber' in 'leberwurst'.