whereupon.conjunction
on which; in close consequence of which (the instructor entered the room, whereupon we got to our feet)

whet, whetted, whetting, whets.transitive verbs
to sharpen (a knife, for example); hone; to make more keen; stimulate.(the frying bacon whetted my appetite)
whet.noun.(normally used without being pluralized)
the act of whetting; something that whets

wage.noun,.plural.wages
a reward or payment for labor or services; a recompense.(the wages of a diligent lifestyle); remuneration on an hourly, daily or weekly basis or by the piece (he was paid for each particular job when he completed it); compare salary
wage, waged, waging, wages.transitive verbs
to engage in (he waged great effort to get his model ready for the country fair)
wage.noun,.plural.wages

wager.noun,.plural.wagers
in game, an agreement under which each bettor.pledges a certain amount to the other depending on the outcome of the game; a gamble; something staked on an uncertain outcome; a bet
wager, wagered, wagering, wagers.verbs
transitive verb use.to risk or stake an amount or a possession on an uncertain outcome; bet
intransitive verb use.to make a bet
wagerer.noun,.plural.wagerers

wholly.adverb
completely; entirely ("The old American purposes are still wholly relevant."....John F. Kennedy); exclusively; solely
whole.adjective
complete (a whole wardrobe for the tropics; the wholeness of character.(*); containing all components; not divided or disjoined; all in one unit (a whole loaf, one with slices of bread cut); constituting the full amount, extent or duration.(his speech showed he was on the qui vive the whole time); having the same parents (a whole sister); holy
Mathematics:.not fractional; integral; 
whole number.noun, plural.whole numbers
any of the set of numbers including zero and all negative and positive multiples of 1
whole.noun,.plural.whole
a number, group, set or thing lacking nothing; a complete thing
whole.adverb
entirely; wholly (a whole new idea)
as a whole.idiom
all parts or aspects considered; altogether (disliked the length but enjoyed the play as a whole)
whole hog.noun.(normally used without being pluralized)
the whole way; the fullest extent (went the whole hog and ordered dessert)
whole hog.adverb
completely; unreservedly
on the whole.idiom
considering everything (on the whole, it's a happy marriage); in most instances or cases; as a rule (can expect sunny weather, on the whole)
wholeness.noun.(normally used without being pluralized)

wayside.noun,.plural.waysides
the side or edge of a road, way, path or highway
wayside.adjective
situated at or near the side of a road, way, path or highway (a wayside inn)
fall by the wayside.idiom
to fail to continue; give up
gone by the wayside.idiom
to be set aside or discarded because of other considerations

wit, wist, witting.verbs
first and third person.singular.present tense of wot
wot.verb
first and third person singular present tense of 'wit', means 'to know'; is sometimes used in writing to represent 'what' (example, John 5:5-13)
transitive verb use.to be or become aware of; learn
intransitive verb use.to know
to wit.idiom
that is to say; namely

wit.noun,.plural.wits
the natural ability to perceive and comprehend; intelligence; keenness and quickness of perception or discernment; ingenuity: living by one's wits; sound mental faculties; sanity.(scared out of my wits); the ability to perceive and express in an ingeniously humorous manner the relationship between seemingly.incongruous or disparate things; Mark Twain was noted for this ability; one skilled in repartee
wist.verb.past tense and past participle of wit
at my wits' end.idiom
at the limit of one's mental resources; utterly at a loss
keep your wits about you.or.have my wits about me.idiom
to remain alert or calm, especially in a crisis

witty, wittier, wittiest.adjectives
possessing or demonstrating wit in speech or writing; very clever and humorous; characterized by or having the nature of wit; quick to discern and express amusing insights or relationships
wittily.adverb
wittiness.noun,.plural.wittinesses
witted.adjective
having.wit.or.intellectual.comprehension; often.used.incombination (keen-witted; dull-witted)
wittedness.noun.(normally used without being pluralized)
witticism.noun,.plural.witticisms
a witty remark; a joke (examples)

witless.adjective
lacking.intelligence or wit; foolish
witlessly.adverb
witlessness.noun

wily, wilier, wiliest.adjectives
full of wiles; cunning; sly; if you describe someone or their behavior as wily, you mean that they are clever at achieving what they want, especially by tricking people (Samson was subject to the wiliness.of Delilah)
wilily.adverb
wiliness.noun,.plural.wilinesses
wile.noun,.plural.wiles
cunning tricks; a stratagem or trick intended to deceive or ensnare; artifice.(the wiles of one skilled in deceit, such as those of the dark side)
wile, wiled, wiling, wiles.transitive verbs
to influence or lead by means of wiles; to pass time agreeably (wile away a Sunday afternoon by lazing in the park)

while.noun
during; a period of time when something is done (stay for a while; sang all the while he traveled to the lake); the time, effort or trouble taken in doing something (the project was worth my while doing)
while.conjunction
as long as; during the time that (it was lovely while it lasted); at the same time that; although (while the grandparents love the children, they are strict with them); whereas; and (the soles are leather, while the uppers are canvas)
while, whiled, whiling, whiles.transitive verbs
to spend time idly or pleasantly (while the hours away)

wicked, wickeder, wickedest.adjectives
to actively be doing bad; disagreeable; malignant; displeasing; those who act from evil, causing.sadness, unhappiness, hurt, injury, distress, misery, calamity; adversity and generally.wrong others by not acting in their best interests (Matthew 22:36-40; Proverbs 21:7); unkind; vicious in disposition; application toward others of evil (example 1, 2); evil by nature and in practice; pernicious; highly offensive; obnoxious (a wicked stench); using language regarded as slang.reverses the meaning to strikingly good, effective or skillful (a wicked curve ball; a wicked imitation)
wicked, wickedly.adverbs
wickedness.noun,.plural.wickednesses

withhold, withheld, withholding, withholds.verbs
transitive verb use.to keep in check; restrain; to refrain from giving, granting or permitting; keep; to deduct (withholding tax) from an employee's salary
intransitive verb use.to refrain or forbear
withholder.noun,.plural.withholders

wilful.also.willful.adjective
said or done on purpose; deliberate; voluntary; obstinately bent on having one's own way; unruly
willfully.adverb
willfulness.noun.(normally used without being pluralized)

wriggle, wriggled, wriggling, wriggles.verbs
intransitive verb use.to turn or twist the body with sinuous.writhing.motions; squirm; to proceed with writhing motions; to worm one's way into or out of a situation
transitive verb use.to move with a wriggling motion (wriggle a toe)
wriggle.noun,.plural.wriggles
a wriggling movement; a sinuous path, line or marking
wriggly.adjective

wiggle, wiggled, wiggling, wiggles.intransitive and transitive verbs
to move or cause to move from side to side with short irregular twisting motions (wiggled restlessly in her chair); wiggle a finger at a waitron
wiggle.noun,.plural.wiggles
a wiggling movement or course
wiggly.adjective

will-o'-the-wisp.noun,.plural.will-o'-the-wisps
a delusive or misleading hope; an illusion

wrench.noun, plural.wrenches
a sudden sharp, forcible twist or turn; an injury produced by twisting or straining; a sudden tug at one's emotions; a surge of compassion, sorrow or anguish; any of various hand or power tools with fixed or adjustable jaws for gripping, turning or twisting objects such as nuts, bolts or pipes
wrench, wrenched, wrenching, wrenches.verbs
transitive verb use.to twist or turn suddenly and forcibly; to twist and sprain (he wrenched his knee); to force free by pulling at; yank; jerk; to pull with a wrench; to pull at the feelings or emotions of; distress (it wrenched her to watch them go); to distort or twist the original character of (wrenched the text to prove her point)
intransitive verb use.to give a wrench, twist or turn
wrenchingly.adverb

monkey wrench.noun,.plural.monkey wrenches
throw a monkey wrench in the works is to do something that will cause problems or spoil someone's plans; something that disrupts (he threw a monkey wrench into our plans); a hand tool with adjustable jaws for turning nuts of varying sizes, such as a Crescent wrench or a wrench a plumber would use on say, a sink or bathtub

what.pronomial
which thing or which particular one of many (What are you having for dinner? What did she say?); which kind, character or designation (What are these objects?); one of how much value or significance (What are possessions to someone having it all?); that which; the thing that (Listen to what I tell you); whatever thing that (Come what may); something (I'll tell you what); which, who or that (It's the poor what gets the blame)
what.adjective
which one or ones of several or many (What college are you attending? You should know what musical that song is from); whatever (They soon repaired what damage had been done); how great; how astonishing (What a fool!)
what.adverb
how much; in what respect; how (What does it matter?)
what.conjunction
that (I don't know but what I'll go)
what.interjection
used to express surprise, incredulity or other strong and sudden excitement; often to solicit agreement (What do you think?)
what for.idiom
a retort.to a demand (The teacher said to leave the class, what for, I wasn't sure, so I asked her, Leave it where? but she didn't like that too much being such a conformist)
what have you.idiom
what remains and need not be mentioned (a room full of chairs, lamps, radios and what have you)
what if.idiom
what would occur if; suppose that
what it takes.idiom
the necessary expertise or qualities needed for success (She has what it takes to be an exacting scientist)
what's up?
what is going on? what's new?
what's what.idiom
the fundamentals and details of a situation or process; the true state or condition

what with,.with what.idioms
taking into consideration; because of (what with all the commotion out there, I thought there was a party going on; with what are you going to shave the bark off the tree?)
Usage note:.When 'what' is the subject of a clause, it may be construed as singular or plural, depending on the sense. It is singular when taken as the equivalent of 'that which' or the 'thing which', as in 'I see what seems to be a dead tree' and it is plural when it is taken as the equivalent of 'those which' or the 'things which', as in 'He sometimes makes what seem to be gestures of aloofness'. When a 'what' clause is itself the subject of a sentence, it may be construed as singular or plural, but the conditions governing this choice are somewhat more complicated. In general, a 'what' clause will be taken as a plural when the clause contains an explicit.indication of its own plurality. There are two principal cases. First, the clause.is plural if 'what' is the subject of the clause and the verb of the clause is itself plural (what seem to be two dead trees are blocking the road; what most surprise me are the inflammatory remarks at the end of his article). If the verb in the 'what' clause does not anticipate the plural sense of the predicate in this way, a singular verb is generally used in the main clause as well, though the plural is sometimes found (what truly commands respect is (sometimes 'are') a kind approach to serious issues). Second, the 'what' clause is treated as plural when its predicate contains a plural noun phrase that unambiguously.establishes the plurality of the clause as a whole, as in 'what traditional scientists called bacteria.agglomeration, modern scientists call a virus' and 'what the Romans established as military outposts were later to become important trading centers'. In the absence of explicit plural marking of either of these types in a subject 'what' clause, the clause is usually treated as singular for the purposes of agreement, regardless of the sense (what she held in her lap was four kittens; what the apparent diamonds turned out to be was paste). In some cases, however, a clause with 'what' as the subject may be treated as singular or plural, depending on a subtle distinction of sense. See Usage note at which. See more Usage notes.

wady.noun, plural.wadies
a valley, gully or streambed in northern Africa and southwest Asia that remains dry except during the rainy season; a stream that flows through such a channel; an oasis

wound.noun.(pronounced 'woon d'), plural.wounds
an injury, especially one in which the skin or other external surface is torn, pierced, cut or otherwise broken
wound, wounded, wounding, wounds.verbs
transitive verb use.to inflict wounds or a wound on
intransitive verb use.to inflict wounds or a wound (harsh.criticism that wounds the spirit)
woundedly (pronounced 'woon ded lee'), woundingly.adverbs

wound.verb.(pronounced 'woo nd')
past tense and past participle of wind

wind.noun,.plural.winds
moving air (winds coming from the northwest); 
in music, the brass and woodwinds sections of a band or an orchestra
wind, winded, winding, winds.transitive verbs
to expose to free movement of air; ventilate or dry; to cause to be out of or short of breath (he ran too fast for a long while and became winded)
windy, windier, windiest.adjectives
characterized by or abounding in wind (a warm but windy night; a windy veranda); given to or characterized by prolonged talk; verbose (a windy speaker)
windily.adverb
windiness.noun

winding.noun,.plural.windings
something wound about a center or an object (an armature with its wire winding; the way in which something is wound; one complete turn of something wound (two windings of electrical tape); a curve or bend, as of a road
winding.adjective
twisting or turning; sinuous; spiral
windingly.adverb
wind, wound, winding, winds.verbs
transitive verb use.to wrap.something around a center or another object once or repeatedly (wind string around a spool); to wrap or encircle an object in a series of coils; entwine (wound her scratched leg with a bandage; wound the waist of the gown with lace and ribbons); to go along a curving or twisting.course (we plan to wind a path through the mountains to save some time)
intransitive verb use.to move in or have a curving or twisting course (a river winding through a valley);  to move in or have a spiral or circular course (wind a watch; a column of smoke winding into the sky); to be coiled or spiraled, twisted or whorled into curved forms
wind.noun,.plural.winds
the act of winding; a single turn, twist or curve
wind down.phrasal verb
to diminish.gradually in energy, intensity or scope (the party wound down as guests began to leave); to relax; unwind
wind up.phrasal verb
to come or bring to a finish; to end (it was 9 pm when the meeting wound up; wind up a project); to put.in order; settle (wound up her affairs before leaving the country)