white damp noun

A poisonous mixture of gases with carbon monoxide predominating, occurring in coal mines

whited sepulchre noun

Someone professedly righteous but inwardly wicked, a hypocrite (Bible, Matthew 23.27)

White Dwarf noun

(also without caps) the name given to a class of small dim stars outside the normal spectral sequence, because their luminosities are extremely low for their spectral type, such stars being in the final stages of their evolution

white elephant see under elephant

White Ensign noun

A flag with a white field and St George's cross, with the Union Jack in the canton, until 1864 the flag of the White Squadron, now flown by the Royal Navy and the Royal Yacht Squadron

whiteˈ-eye noun

Any bird of the genus Zosterops or of related genera of the family Zosteropidae, most species of which have a conspicuous ring of minute white feathers round the eye

white-eyelid monkey noun

Any of the mangabeys, monkeys with white upper eyelids

whiteˈface noun

White make-up, esp as worn by a traditional type of clown

whiteˈ-faced adjective

1. Having a face pale with fear or from illness
2. Wearing white make-up, eg as a clown
3. (of animals) having the face, or part of it, white
4. With white front (also whiteˈ-fronted)

whiteˈ-favoured adjective

Wearing white favours

white feather noun

A sign of cowardice, as in show the white feather

white finger noun

A loss of colour in the fingers caused by arterial spasms reducing the blood flow, often (vibration white finger) caused by prolonged use of vibrating machinery

white fish noun

1. A general name for such fish as the whiting, haddock, plaice, cod, sole, menhaden, etc
2. (whiteˈfish) any species of Coregonus

white flag noun

An emblem of truce or surrender

white flight noun

The movement by white people out of neighbourhoods where non-white people have come to live

whiteˈfly noun

Any of several insect pests belonging to the family Aleurodidae

white-footed mouse noun

The deer mouse

White Friar noun

(also without caps) one of the Carmelite order of friars, so called from their white clothing

whiteˈ-frontˈed adjective see white-faced above.

white frost noun

Hoarfrost

white gold noun

Gold alloyed with nickel or palladium to give it a white colour

white goods plural noun

1. Refrigerators, washing machines, dish-washers, freezers and similar appliances, usu painted with white enamel
2. Household linen

whiteˈ-haired adjective

1. Having white hair
2. White-headed, darling

Whitehall see separate entry.

whiteˈ-handˈed adjective

1. Having white hands or paws
2. Having hands unstained with guilt

white hass, white hause or white hawse noun (Scot)

An oatmeal pudding made with sheep's gullet

whiteˈ-hat hacker noun

A computer hacker who tries to break into a system in order to test its security (cf black-hat hacker)

whiteˈhead noun

1. The blue-winged snow goose
2. A breed of domestic pigeons
3. A pimple or pustule with a white top

whiteˈ-headed adjective

1. (of an animal) with a wholly or partly white head
2. Having white or flaxen hair

white-headed boy noun

A favourite, a protégé

white-headed eagle noun

The N American bald eagle

whiteˈ-heart or white-heart cherry noun

A cultivated cherry, related to the gean, with soft, tender flesh and pale skin

white heat noun

1. The degree of heat at which metals, etc emit white light
2. An intense degree of emotion, passion, activity, keenness, etc

white herring noun

A fresh or uncured herring

white hole noun

A suggested source of the matter and energy observed flowing into the universe (cf black hole)

white honeysuckle noun

An azalea known also as the clammy or swamp azalea

white hope noun

A person on whom hopes for success, honour, etc are grounded (also great white hope)

white horse noun

1. A white-topped wave
2. A figure of a horse on a hillside, formed by removing the turf from the underlying chalk, the most famous being in Oxfordshire, at Uffington

white-hotˈ adjective

1. Heated to such a degree that white light is emitted
2. Intensely emotional, passionate, etc

White House noun

The official residence in Washington of the President of the USA

white hunter noun

1. A white man who is a professional hunter of big game
2. A white man who acts as guide to hunting parties and safaris

white iron noun

Pig iron or cast iron in which all the carbon is in chemical combination with the iron

white knight noun (stock exchange)

A person who rescues a company from an unwanted takeover bid (cf white squire)

whiteˈ-knuckle adjective (informal)

Giving rise to extreme anxiety, alarm or terror, esp in white-knuckle ride a fairground roller-coaster or any similarly terrifying ride

white lady noun

1. A spectral figure said to be associated with the fortunes of a family, as in some German castles
2. A cocktail made of gin, orange liqueur and lemon juice
3. Methylated spirits as a drink, sometimes mixed with similar substances (old Aust sl)

white lead noun

Basic lead carbonate used in paint and putty

white leather noun

Supple skins from deer, sheep and goats, tawed (ie soaked in alum, stretched and scraped) and kept in their natural colour, used for gloves, purses, etc

whiteˈ-leg noun

Phlegmasia alba dolens, a form of phlebitis occurring after childbirth (also called milk leg)

white lie noun

A forgivable lie, esp one told out of tactfulness

white light noun

Light containing all wavelengths in the visible range at the same intensity (the term is used, however, to cover a wide range of intensity distribution in the spectrum)

white lime noun (obsolete)

Whitewash

white line noun

A longitudinal continuous or broken line painted on a highway as a line demarcation for traffic

whiteˈlist noun

A list of people, organizations, etc that are regarded with approval

transitive verb

To put on a whitelist

whiteˈ-listed adjective

Having white stripes on a darker ground

whiteˈ-livered adjective

1. Having a pale look (once thought to be caused by a white liver)
2. Cowardly

white man noun

1. A member of the white race
2. Someone assumed to deal fairly with others (informal)

white man's burden noun (Kipling)

The white man's (former) perceived obligation to govern and educate less civilized black peoples

white matter noun (anatomy)

Pale-coloured fibrous nerve tissue in the brain and spinal cord

white meat noun

1. The flesh of poultry, rabbits, calves, etc
2. The lighter parts of the cooked flesh of poultry (eg the breast), as opposed to the darker meat of the leg
3. Food made of milk, butter, eggs, etc

white metal noun

1. A tin-base alloy with over 50 per cent of tin
2. Also, an alloy in which lead is the principal metal

white meter noun

A meter that records off-peak consumption of electricity

white night noun

1. A sleepless night
2. In northern latitudes, a summer night that never becomes completely dark

white noise noun

A noise in which there are a large number of frequencies of roughly equal intensity

whiteˈ-out noun

1. A phenomenon in snow-covered regions in fog or overcast conditions in which earth and sky merge in a single whiteness
2. A dense blizzard
3. See also white out below

white paper noun

(often with caps) a statement, printed on white paper, issued by government for the information of parliament

white pepper noun

Light-coloured pepper made from peppercorns from which the dark outer husk has been removed

white pine noun

1. A N American conifer (Pinus strobus), valued for its light-coloured timber
2. The kahikatea

whiteˈpot noun

A Devonshire dish of sliced rolls, milk, eggs, sugar, etc, baked

white precipitate noun

A white mercurial substance used in ointments for treating worm-infestations, etc

white pudding noun

An oatmeal and suet pudding in a sausage skin

white pyrites plural noun

Marcasite

white race noun

One of the main divisions of mankind, distinguished generally by light complexion and certain types of hair and skull, also known as Caucasian

white rat noun

An albino strain of the brown rat, much used in laboratory experiments

white rent noun (historical)

1. The tinner's poll tax of eightpence to the Duke of Cornwall
2. Rent paid in silver

white rhinoceros noun

A large African two-horned grazing rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum (also square-lipped rhinoceros)

white rose noun (historical)

In the Wars of the Roses, the emblem of the House of York

white rot noun

A disease of plants characterized by a white fungal growth

whiteˈ-rumped adjective

White Russian noun

1. A Byelorussian
2. A cocktail consisting of vodka, Kahlúa and milk

white sale noun

A sale of linen goods at reduced prices

white salt noun

Salt dried and calcined

white sauce noun

A sauce made with roux thinned with milk or stock eg from chicken or veal, and flavoured as desired

white seam noun (Scot)

Plain needlework

whiteˈ-seam intransitive verb

To do plain needlework

white settler noun (derogatory)

A usu wealthy outsider who moves into a district and makes use of its amenities without blending sympathetically into the local community

white sheet noun (religion; historical)

The clothing symbolically worn by a penitent

whiteˈ-shoe adjective (slang; orig US)

Namby-pamby

white slave noun

A girl procured for prostitution purposes (esp when exported)

white slaver noun

white slavery noun

whiteˈsmith noun

1. A worker in tinned or white iron
2. A tinsmith
3. A polisher or finisher of metals

white spirit noun

A petroleum distillate used as a substitute for turpentine in mixing paints, and in paint and varnish manufacture

White Squadron noun

1. One of three divisions of the British Navy in former times
2. White-painted vessels built in 1883 and following years as part of a strong US Navy

white squall noun

A sudden tropical whirlwind or windstorm heralded by little more than a choppiness of the sea or the appearance of a small white cloud

white squire noun (stock exchange)

A friendly party to whom a company chooses to transfer the bulk of its shares as a defence against a takeover move

white stick noun

A walking-stick used by a blind person to feel his or her way, painted white as an indication of the user's blindness

white stuff noun (slang)

Heroin, morphine or cocaine

white sugar noun

Refined sugar

white-supremˈacist noun

An advocate of white supremacy the philosophy or policy of giving dominance to white people on the grounds of their alleged superiority

whiteˈ-tailed adjective

white tea noun

Tea made from silvery-white buds and immature leaves that have not been fermented and retain a light colour

whiteˈthorn noun

The common hawthorn

whiteˈthroat noun

1. Either of two warblers of the same genus (Sylvia) as the blackcap, having white throat feathers
2. A species of American sparrow
3. Any of several species of hummingbird

white tie noun

1. A white bow tie, part of formal evening dress
2. Hence, formal evening dress

whiteˈ-tie adjective

white trash noun see trash¹

white van man noun (derog inf)

The driver of a (typically white-coloured) commercial van, stereotypically an inconsiderate and aggressive driver

white vitriol noun

Zinc sulphate

white voice noun

A singing voice of pure, neutral tone, expressing no emotion

whiteˈwall adjective

(of pneumatic tyres) having a broad white band around the side walls (also noun)

whiteˈware noun

Articles made of white porcelain, pottery or other ceramic material

whiteˈwash noun

1. A mixture of lime and water, or whiting, size and water, used for coating walls
2. A wash for the skin
3. False colouring
4. Statements made or measures taken to rehabilitate a reputation, cover up official misdemeanours, etc
5. A total defeat in a game, sporting contest, etc (informal)
6. A glass of sherry after other wines
7. An act of whitewashing

transitive verb

1. To cover with whitewash
2. To give a fair appearance to
3. To take steps to clear the stain from (a reputation), cover up (an official misdemeanour) or rehabilitate (a person) in the public eye
4. To beat (an opponent) so decisively in a game that he or she fails to score at all (informal)

whiteˈwasher noun

Someone who whitewashes

white water noun

1. Shoal water near the shore, breakers
2. The foaming water in rapids, etc (whiteˈ-water adjective as in white-water canoeing, rafting, etc)

white wax noun

1. Bleached beeswax
2. Chinese wax

white whale noun

The beluga

whiteˈwing noun

1. The velvet duck, or an American scoter closely related to it
2. The chaffinch

whiteˈ-winged adjective

whiteˈwood noun

1. A name applied to a large number of trees or their light-coloured timber, eg the American tulip tree, whitewood cedar (Tecoma, or Tabebuia, leucoxylon; Bignoniaceae), etc
2. Unstained wood or wood prepared for staining (as in whitewood furniture)

whītˈing-time noun (Shakespeare)

Bleaching-time

whītˈy-brown adjective

White with a tinge of brown

bleed white

To drain completely of resources

China white

A very pure variety of white lead (also silver white and French white)

mark with a white stone see under stone

white out

1. To delete (written or typed material) with (white) correcting fluid, over which a corrected version may be written
2. To omit or cover up (secret or sensitive material in a report, transcript, etc) so leaving blank spaces
3. To (cause to) lose definition in conditions of white-out (qv above)
4. To subject (an audience) to a blinding glare or flash (theatre)

whiter than white

1. Extremely white
2. Very pure, very law-abiding