W


Meaning of W in English

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

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.