I. ˈdəbəl(ˌ)yü, -lyə; in rapid speech also -b(ə)yə or -byē noun
( plural w's or ws )
Usage: often capitalized, often attributive
1.
a. : the 23d letter of the English alphabet
b. : an instance of this letter printed, written, or otherwise represented
c. : a speech counterpart of orthographic w (as w in woo, watt, sway, or German wasser )
2. : a printer's type, a stamp, or some other instrument for reproducing the letter w
3. : someone or something arbitrarily or conveniently designated w especially as the 22d or when j is used for the 10th the 23d in order or class
4. : something having the shape of the letter W
II. abbreviation
Usage: often capitalized
1. wall
2. wanting
3. war
4. warden
5. warehouse; warehousing
6. warm
7. waste
8. water
9. watt
10. weather
11. week
12. weight
13. west; western
14. wet
15. whip
16. white
17. wicket
18. wide
19. widow
20. width
21. wife
22. wind
23. wire
24. with
25. won
26. wood
27. word
28. work
29. wrong
III. symbol
Usage: capitalized
1. energy
2.
[German wolfram ]
tungsten
IV. noun
or w boson or w particle
Usage: usually capitalized W
Etymology: w eak
: either of two elementary particles about 80 times heavier than a proton that along with the Z particle are transmitters of the weak force and that can have a positive or negative charge