English dictionary — definitions & meanings

withdrawal

noun

The act of taking money out of an account, or the sum of money taken out.

withdrawing

noun

The act of taking or pulling something back; withdrawal.

withdrawn

adjective

Quiet and reluctant to engage or socialize with others.

wither

verb

To shrink, dry up, or lose freshness, especially from lack of water.

withered

adjective

Shrunken, dried out, or faded, especially from age or lack of water.

withering

adjective

Extremely harsh or scornful, intended to crush or humiliate.

witherite

noun

A yellow-grey mineral form of barium carbonate, BaCO₃

withers

noun

The ridge between a four-legged animal's shoulder blades, usually the tallest part of its back and used to measure its height.

withersake

noun

An apostate or perfidious renegade.

Witherspoon

name

A Scottish surname derived from a place name meaning "sheep pasture near wether (castrated ram) land."

witherward

adj

Adverse, contrary.

withheld

adjective

Kept back or not given, especially information.

withhold

verb

To refuse to give, share, or reveal something.

withholding

noun

The deduction of tax from an employee's pay before it is paid out.

within

preposition

Inside the physical limits of something.

without

preposition

Not having or accompanied by something.

withsake

verb

To forsake; abandon; renounce; deny; refuse.

withset

verb

To set oneself against; oppose; resist.

withspeak

verb

To speak against; contradict.

withstand

verb

To resist or hold up successfully against pressure, force, or attack.

withstandable

adj

Capable of being withstood.

withy

noun

An osier (Salix viminalis), a type of willow.

witless

adjective

Lacking intelligence or common sense; foolish.

witlessness

noun

The state of being witless; stupidity.

witley

name

A village and civil parish in Waverley borough, Surrey, England (OS grid ref SU9439).

witness

noun

A person who sees an event happen and can describe it afterward.

witnessing

noun

The act of seeing an event happen, or of giving testimony about it.

witney

name

A town and civil parish with a town council in West Oxfordshire district, Oxfordshire, England (OS grid ref SP3510).

wits

noun

A person's mental sharpness or ability to think and react quickly, especially under pressure.

witsec

noun

The U.S. federal Witness Security Program, which relocates and protects witnesses who testify against dangerous criminals.

Witt

name

A German and English surname, often derived from a nickname meaning "wise" or "white."

Witten

name

A German surname and place name, notably borne by physicist Edward Witten.

witter

verb

To talk on and on about unimportant things.

witticism

noun

a witty remark; a bon mot; an epigram; a zinger.

wittiness

noun

the quality of being witty

witting

adj

aware, knowledgeable

wittingly

adv

in a witting manner, intentionally, on purpose.

witty

adjective

Cleverly funny; able to make quick, amusing remarks.

wiz

noun

Someone remarkably skilled or talented at something, especially informally.

wizard

noun

In folklore and fantasy fiction, a man who practises magic; a sorcerer.

wizardcraft

noun

witchcraft, carried out by a wizard.

wizardry

noun

The practice of magic; sorcery.

wizened

adj

Withered; lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness.

wlw

noun

Women loving women: an umbrella term for women attracted to other women, taking in lesbian, bisexual, pansexual and queer women alike.

wo

intj

A command used to make a horse slow down or stop (a variant of "whoa").

wobble

verb

To move unsteadily from side to side, rocking rather than moving smoothly.

wobbles

noun

A shaky, unsteady feeling, especially in the legs or on one's feet.

wobbling

noun

The rocking, unsteady movement of something that wobbles.

wobbly

adj

Unsteady, shaky, or likely to wobble.

wode

adj

Mad, angry, crazy, insane, possessed, rabid, furious, frantic.

wodehousian

adj

Of or pertaining to P. G. Wodehouse (1881–1975), English writer and humorist known for his eccentric half-witted characters and excellent prose.

woden

name

The Germanic chief god, distributor of talents and god of wisdom and war (corresponding to Odin), especially in his Anglo-Saxon form.

woe

noun

Deep sadness or distress, or a misfortune that causes it.

woebegone

adj

Of a person: deeply affected or overwhelmed by suffering or trouble, and so filled with woe (“great distress or sadness”); (loosely) forlorn, sad, unhappy.

woefare

noun

Discontentment; sorrow; unhappiness.

woeful

adj

Full of sorrow or distress.

woefully

adv

To a shockingly great or inadequate extent.

wog

noun

An ethnic slur used, mainly in British and Australian English, for people of certain non-white or Mediterranean backgrounds.

wok

noun

A large, round-bottomed pan used for stir-frying and other East Asian cooking.

woke

adj

Aware of and actively concerned about social injustice, especially around race.

woken

verb

Past participle of wake: roused from sleep.

Wolcott

name

An English surname derived from a place name meaning "Wulfric's cottage."

wold

noun

An unforested or deforested plain, a grassland, a moor.

wolf

noun

A large wild canine, Canis lupus, that lives and hunts in packs.

Wolfe

name

An English surname derived from "wolf," originally a nickname for a fierce or cunning person.

wolfess

noun

A female wolf, a she-wolf.

Wolff

name

A German surname meaning "wolf," often used as a nickname for a fierce or wolf-like person.

Wolfgang

name

A German male given name, most famously associated with the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

wolfish

adj

Of, like, or pertaining to a wolf.

wolfman

noun

A man who transforms into a wolf-like creature; a werewolf.

wolfram

noun

An older name for the metallic element tungsten.

wolfsbane

noun

A poisonous flowering plant of the genus Aconitum, also known as monkshood or aconite.

Wolsey

name

An English surname, most notably borne by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a powerful advisor to King Henry VIII.

wolverine

noun

A stocky, powerful, solitary mammal (Gulo gulo) related to weasels, known for its strength and aggression relative to its size.

Wolves

noun

Plural of wolf.

woman

noun

An adult female human.

womanhater

noun

One who hates women or the female sex; a misogynist.

womanhood

noun

The state or condition of being a woman, especially as reached at maturity.

womaniser

noun

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of womanizer.

womanish

adj

Characteristic of a woman; effeminate, feminine.

womanizer

noun

A man who habitually flirts with, seduces, or pursues many women.

womankind

noun

Women, taken collectively.

womanlikeness

noun

The state, quality, or condition of being womanlike; femininity.

womanliness

noun

The condition of being a woman; femininity.

womanly

adj

Considered typical of, or fitting for, a woman; feminine.

womb

noun

The organ in a female mammal's body where offspring develop before birth; the uterus.

wombat

noun

A stocky, burrowing, plant-eating marsupial native to Australia.

Women

noun

Plural of woman.

womenfolk

noun

Women as a group, especially the female members of a family or community.

womenkind

noun

All women around the world viewed as one entity.

wommon

noun

Feminist spelling of woman

womon

noun

Feminist spelling of woman

womxn

noun

Feminist spelling of woman.

womyn

noun

Feminist spelling of woman.

won

verb

Past tense and past participle of win.

wonder

noun

A feeling of amazement and curiosity caused by something remarkable or unexpected.

wondered

adj

Wonderful or extraordinary (archaic).

wonderful

adj

Extremely good, impressive, or pleasing.

wonderfully

adv

In an excellent or admirable way.

wondering

adj

Curious, questioning, or thoughtful.

wonderland

noun

An imaginary or real place full of wonders and marvels.

wonderment

noun

Wonder; astonishment.

wonderworker

noun

One who performs wonders, marvels, or miracles.

wonderworking

noun

The performance of wonders, marvels, or miracles.

wondrous

adj

Amazing or awe-inspiring; marvelous.

wone

noun

A house, home, habitation, dwelling.

wong

noun

A field or open piece of land (an old, mostly historical word).

wonga

name

A locality in South Gippsland Shire, south eastern Victoria, Australia.

woning

noun

A place to live; a dwelling; a dwelling-place; an abode.

wonk

noun

An overly studious person, particularly a student.

wonkaesque

adj

Reminiscent of Willy Wonka, the fantastically eccentric owner of a magical chocolate factory in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and related fiction by Roald Dahl.

wonky

adj

Not straight or properly aligned; wobbly or unstable.

wont

noun

A person's usual habit or custom.

wonted

adj

Usual, customary, habitual, or accustomed.

wontedly

adv

Usually, customarily, or habitually.

wontish

adj

Of or suggestive of a wont; customary; usual; habitual.

wontly

adv

Usually; customarily; habitually.

wonton

noun

A small Chinese dumpling, typically filled with meat or seafood and served in soup or fried.

woo

verb

To try to win someone's affection, love, or support.

woobie

noun

Any object, typically a blanket, garment or stuffed animal, that is used simply for its comforting characteristics; a security blanket.

wood

noun

The hard fibrous material that makes up the trunk and branches of a tree, used for building, fuel, and countless other purposes.

woodbine

noun

Any of several climbing vines, especially the honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.) and the creepers of genus Parthenocissus.

Woodbury

name

An English surname and place name meaning "fortified place in the woods."

woodcarver

noun

a person who is skilled at woodcarving

woodchuck

noun

A large North American ground squirrel, also called a groundhog, known for digging burrows.

woodcock

noun

A plump wading bird with a long, slender bill and mottled brown feathers, found in woodland and marshes.

woodcutter

noun

A person whose job is to cut down trees or chop wood.

woodcutting

noun

The felling of trees, or the cutting of wood.

wooded

adj

Covered with trees.

wooden

adj

Made of wood.

Woodford

name

An English surname and place name meaning "ford through the woods."

woodhouse

noun

A shed or small building used for storing chopped or split wood.

Woodhull

name

An English surname, notably borne by Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for U.S. president.

woodland

noun

Land covered by trees; a lightly forested area.

Woodlands

name

A place name used for various towns and districts, often describing wooded terrain, such as The Woodlands in Texas.

Woodley

name

An English surname and place name meaning "clearing in the woods."

woodlike

adj

Resembling wood, such as in color or texture

woodlouse

noun

Any of various small terrestrial isopod crustaceans of suborder Oniscidea, having a rigid segmented exoskeleton, usually feeding on dead plant matter and living in damp, dark places, such as under stones or bark. Several common species roll into a ball when disturbed, hence names such as pill bug and roly-poly.

woodman

noun

A person who cuts down trees or works with wood, especially in a forest.

woodpecker

noun

A bird with a strong, pointed beak that it uses to peck holes in tree trunks, searching for insects or making a nest.

Woodrow

name

A masculine given name and surname of English origin, meaning "row of houses by a wood."

woodruff

noun

A small, sweet-smelling herb with star-shaped leaves, traditionally used to flavor drinks and desserts.

woods

noun

A group of trees covering an area smaller than a forest; a small wooded area.

woodshed

noun

A small outdoor building used to store firewood.

woodsman

noun

A person, typically a man, who is skilled at living and working in forests.

woodsmanship

noun

The skills of a woodsman.

woodsy

adj

Of, relating to, or suggestive of a wooded area.

woodward

noun

A person responsible for guarding or overseeing a wood or forest (historical).

woodwind

noun

Any (typically wooden) musical instrument that produces sound by the player blowing into it, through a reed, or across an opening. Woodwind instruments include the recorder, flute, piccolo, clarinet, oboe, cor anglais and bassoon.

woodwork

noun

Items or fittings made of wood, such as doorframes, trim, and cabinets.