waterstop
nounConstruction
A waterproof barrier that is used to prevent moisture from leaking through a joint.
Entries starting with W
222 entries.
waterwork
Engineering works relating to the conveyance and flow of fluids (principally water), such as the collection and distribution of water, drainage, irrigation, etc.
waterworks
Engineering works relating to the conveyance and flow of fluids (principally water), such as the collection and distribution of water, drainage, irrigation, etc.
wavelet modulation
A method of modulating signals that uses wavelets to represent the data being transmitted.
wavemeter
An instrument which measures radio (and other electromagnetic) wavelengths
waver
In full waver roller: a roller which places ink on the inking table of a printing press with a back and forth, waving motion.
wax point
The temperature below which a hydrocarbon fuel such as kerosene ceases to flow freely due to components of the fuel freezing into solid waxes.
way
A seventeenth-century unit of Rhenish glass containing 60 bunches.
way-cleaner
A person employed to clean the rails, removing coaldust etc.
wayboard
A thin layer or band of rock that separates or defines the boundaries of thicker strata.
wear
To bring (a sailing vessel) onto the other tack by bringing the wind around the stern (as opposed to tacking when the wind is brought around the bow); to come round on another tack by turning away from the wind.
weather
The direction from which the wind is blowing; used attributively to indicate the windward side.
web
A long sheet of paper which is fed from a roll into a printing press, as opposed to individual sheets of paper.
webbing
Tapes conducting webs of paper in a printing machine.
webphone
A telephone that connects through the Internet.
wedge gear
A specialized friction gear characterized by circumferential grooves of wedge-shaped cross section on its wheel periphery.
wedging
nounConstruction
A method of joining timbers.
Wedgwood
The ceramic ware with white embossed cameos made by Josiah Wedgwood, English potter.
weedwhacker
A device used to cut grass and destroy weeds; a string trimmer.
weft
nounManufacturing
The yarn used for the weft; the fill.
weigh
To raise an anchor free of the seabed.
weight
verbManufacturing
To add weight to something; to make something heavier.
weldless
adjectiveMetallurgy
Made or done without welding.
well
nounMetalworking
The lower part of a furnace, into which the metal falls.
wellpoint
nounConstruction
A small well consisting of a tube hammered into the ground, that can drain water from a construction site.
Welsh plain
A type of coarse woolen fabric produced in Wales between the 17th and 19th centuries.
Western Union splice
A method of tightly joining two ends of metal wire by twisting each around the other.
wet
adjectiveAviation maintenance
Using afterburners or water injection for increased engine thrust.
wet heater
A torpedo engine where water is injected into the combustion chamber alongside fuel and compressed air or oxygen, cooling the engine and increasing its power through the production and expansion of steam.
wet lease
An agreement in which an airplane, including crew, maintenance and insurance, is leased to another organisation, usually for a short period of time.
wet sump
nounAutomotive
A type of engine sump where oil pools in a pan at the bottom of the engine.
wetdown
A traditional ceremony of spraying water over a new fire truck before it is placed into service.
wetline
A line that has been doused with water in order to stop the advance of a fire.
wetlook
nounManufacturing
A glossy or shiny finish, giving an appearance of being wet.
Weyl fermion
A massless quasiparticle and fermion, which carries electric charge, and cannot move backwards, that may exist in Weyl semimetals, where an electron can be split into two Weyl fermions which move in opposite directions, which can form an electron by combining two Weyl fermions.
WFR
nounConstruction
Initialism of wall-to-floor ratio, a metric indicating construction efficiency and costs.
whale safari
A sea excursion organised for the purpose of whale watching.
whale tail
A kind of large automotive rear spoiler.
wharfinger
nounRail equipment
The manager of a wharf along a railway line, that is, a place used for loading and unloading goods on to trains.
wheel
The instrument attached to the rudder by which a vessel is steered.
wheel brace
A hand tool that is used to loosen or tighten the lug nuts on the wheels of a vehicle.
wheel lathe
A lathe for the manufacture and resurfacing of the wheels for rail vehicles.
wheel shop
nounRail equipment
A workshop where wheels of locomotives and other railway vehicles are maintained.
wheelbarrow
To cause the weight of an aeroplane to become concentrated around the nosewheel.
wheelman
nounAutomotive
A driver of an automobile, especially a getaway vehicle in a criminal enterprise.
wheelspin
nounAutomotive
The spinning of the wheels of a vehicle on the surface of the ground with greatly reduced friction and little movement of the vehicle, especially when starting.
whim
A large capstan or vertical drum turned by horse power or steam power, for raising ore or water, etc., from mines, or for other purposes.
whimsy
The support that protects a finished piece as it is detached from a punty.
whip
A purchase in which one block is used to gain a 2:1 mechanical advantage.
whip stitch
A simple embroidery or hand sewing stitch in which the needle is passed in and out of the fabric in a series of stitches that circle an edge of the fabric.
whipstitch
Half-ploughing or raftering.
whirlpooling
nounManufacturing
A method of separating the trub from the wort, involving centrifugal force.
whisker
nounMetallurgy
A small tendril that forms on metal.
whiskering
A defect of gravure printing characterized by printed areas possessing hairlike tendrils of ink sticking out into non-image areas.
whistle post
nounRail equipment
A sign marking a location where a locomotive engineer is required to sound the horn or whistle.
white liquor
A strongly alkaline caustic white liquid composed mainly of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in the production of wood pulp in papermaking.
white plague
The white gold-aluminium intermetallic compound Au₅Al₂, which can be formed when gold and aluminium are heated in direct contact (for instance, at an electrical junction between gold and aluminium components).
whitewash
Of bricks: to become encrusted with a white layer of soluble salts due to efflorescence.
whole cloth
A newly made textile which has not yet been cut.
wick
The growing part of a plant nearest to the roots.