Words that start with W

Wis forWince

You wince when you are struck with a sudden pain. When you wince, you jerk away from the pain, or pull a pained facial expression.

Emotions

Vince Alongi / CC BY-SA

A winch is a device used for tightening a rope. They can be hand powered or powered by a motor. Winches can be used on a crane to lift things, to tow boats out of the water like the winch in the picture, or to tighten the rigging on a sailboat.

List of devices

John Loo / CC BY-SA

Wis forWind

Wind is just the large scale movement of air. Wind happens because some parts of the world get heated up more than others by the sun, and it makes the air there get bigger, so the air has to try and move somewhere it has more room. Where it is cold, the air gets smaller, so wind is always moving between places that are different temperatures. When it is very windy it is called a storm. Wind can be very dangerous, but it can also be turned into electricity using wind turbines or used for other purposes using windmills. There are lots of words that mean different kinds of wind, like breeze for a gentle wind, gust for a sudden burst of wind, or gale for a very strong wind.

Weather

Ed Schipul / CC BY-SA

Wis forWind chime

A wind chime is an ornamental item that is hung outside in the wind. Wind chimes have parts that can move in the wind, and when they bump into each other they make a nice noise. Wind chimes can be made from metal, glass, bells, ceramic or wood.

List of home decor, Musical words

Penny Higgins / CC BY-SA

Wis forWind turbine

Wind turbines are a type of windmill designed to make electricity. They are usually much, much taller than windmills. Wind turbines need to be built somewhere it is windy most of the time, and are usually built in remote or inhospitable areas. In some countries they build them in the sea.

List of structures

Martin Robson / CC BY-SA

Wis forWindmill

A windmill is a machine that is used to convert the energy from the wind blowing past into more useful energy. Windmills have several blades or sails that catch the wind as it goes past, and the sails turn around. Inside the windmill is other machinery that does useful work as the wind turns the sails outside. Windmills were used to mill grain into flour, hence their name. Windmills can also be used to pump water out of wells. More recently wind has been used to generate electricity. The version of the windmill that is used for this is called a wind turbine.

List of structures

Eli Pousson / CC BY-SA

Wis forWindow

A window is a structure put through the side of a house so the people inside can see out. Windows are usually made of glass so that sunlight can get in but the cold and wind can't.

List of home decor, List of structures, Openings

Generated image of an educational model of lungs

Photographic Dictionary / Generated illustration

Wis forWindpipe

The windpipe is a tube inside your neck that helps air get to your lungs. It is also called the trachea. When you breathe in, air moves through the windpipe. When you breathe out, air moves back out the same way. The windpipe is lined with tissue that helps catch dust and germs. It starts below your voice box and goes down to the chest, where it splits into two smaller airways.

Body parts

Mike Finn / CC BY-SA

Wis forWindswept

Windswept describes something that has been damaged or changed by strong winds.

Adjectives

Sonja Pieper / CC BY-SA

Wis forWine

Wine is made by fermenting the juice of grapes. Fermentation makes a drink alcoholic. Alcohol is a substance that can make you feel very good and happy if you drink a little bit of it, but you get drunk if you drink too much. Wine is a drink that is only for adults.

Drinks