Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

(Finance) a list of investments that are being studied very carefully because people think sth unusual or interesting will happen to them: The website has a watch list of 50 companies that it predicts will do well this year.

a list of people, companies, organizations, etc. that are being studied carefully because people think that they are doing sth dishonest or illegal: a watch list of dishonest traders

'water .cooler noun [c]

1 a machine, for example in an office, that cools water and supplies it for drinking: Go to the water cooler to catch up on office gossip.

2 (informal) [especially Ami) [used as an adjective) used to describe any informal conversation among office workers of the type that takes place around the water cooler: water-cooler chats/gossip

watershed /'wo:taJed; AmE 'wo:tarJed; 'wa:t-/ noun

1 [C] an event or a period of time that marks an important change: The 2005 pay agreement was a

1 (usually used in compounds) used especially in shops/stores to describe clothes for a particular purpose or occasion: children's/ladies' wear о menswear о sportswear

2 the fact of wearing sth: casual clothes for everyday wear

3 the amount or type of use that sth has over a period of time: carpets that give years of wear

4 the damage or loss of quality that is caused when sth has been used a lot: The machines have to be checked regularly for signs of wear.

HEED wear and 'tear the damage to objects, furniture, property, etc. that is the result of normal use: The guarantee applies to manufacturing faults, not to normal wear and tear.

wearout /'wearaut/ noun [u]

the process of sth becoming no longer useful or able to be used because it has been used for a long time: research into wearout and failure in car engines

(Marketing) the situation when an advertisement has been shown so many times that it is no longer useful as people are now bored or annoyed with it: Advertising wearout can be avoided by varying the way in which the basic message is presented.

.weather 'working days noun [pl.] {abbr WWD^ (Transport) days on which work can be done if the weather is good: The contract allowed two weather working days for the ship to be unloaded.

* the Web /web/ = World Wide Web

'webad.dress noun [c] (IT) the address of a web page: I must have typed in the wrong web address. IsVnI URL

web-based 'seminar = webinar

webcast /'webka:st; AmE -kaest/ noun [C] (IT) a live broadcast that is sent out on the Internet: The event will be viewable via a webcast. ► 'webcast verb [+ obj] 'webcasting noun [u]

web de sign noun [u] (IT) the art or process of arranging the information in websites ► 'web designer: He works as a web designer.

'web development noun [u](IT) the art or process of making websites

'web-e,nabled adjective(IT) designed to be used on the World Wide Web : able to use the Internet for business: web-enabled mobile phones

'web ,hosting (also spelled web-hosting) noun [u](IT) the service of keeping websites on a server so that they can be looked at by people using the Internet

О a web-hosting business/company/group ♦ web- hosting activities/services

• wholesale /'haulseil; AmE'houl-/ noun, adjective, adverb, verb

(Commerce)

noun [u]

the buying and selling of goods in large quantities, especially to businesses, so that they can be sold again to make a profit: I spent five years working in wholesale, о The company has changed its focus from wholesale to retail. retail

adjective [only before noun]