W

Washington, D.C. Treat "D.C." like an abbreviation for a state, using a comma before and after, except at the end of a sentence: Washington, D.C., is the nation's capital. The Boy Scouts took a trip to Washington, D.C.

Washington-Grizzly Stadium

Web, World Wide Web Either is acceptable.

webcam, webmaster, Web page, Web site

weeklong

whether Not "whether or not": I wonder whether I will flunk out, not I wonder whether or not I will flunk out. See if, whether entry.

which, that Use " which" and " that" to refer to inanimate objects and unnamed animals. Generally, " which" is preceded by a comma, while " that" is not: The dog, which was brown, ate my shoe. The dog that ate my shoe is brown. See essential, nonessential clause/phrase and who, whom entries.

white water, white-water rafting

who, whom Use "who" and "whom" to refer to humans and named animals: Jack owns Constitution, who is a former race horse. Our dog Dexter, whom we bought two years ago, is a Chihuahua.

Use "who" for the subject of a clause, sentence or phrase: The man who runs the store is a friend of mine. Who stole the car?

Use "whom" when a person is the object of a verb or preposition: As Lily Tomlin asked, "Is this the person to whom I am speaking?" Whom do you plan to call?

Some examples of how to test for proper use of "who" or "whom": Jack, who I hope has called you back, got home a week ago. Mentally rearrange the tricky clause: I hope he has called you back. If you can substitute "he" or "she" for "who," "who" is correct in the original sentence.

Jean, whom I trusted with my life, just set my house on fire. Recast the "whom" clause: I trusted her with my life. If you can substitute "her" or "him" for "whom," "whom" is correct in the original sentence.

Use the same tests for "whoever" and "whomever."

who's, whose "Who's" is a contraction for "who is": Who's there? "Whose" is possessive: I don't know whose shoes those are.

wide- Usually hyphenated: wide-angle, wide-awake, wide-open. Exception: widespread.

-wide No hyphen: campuswide, citywide, statewide, worldwide, universitywide.

-wise No hyphen when the word means in the direction of or with regard to: clockwise, lengthwise, otherwise. Avoid contrived expressions like "religionwise" and "moneywise." Hyphenate "penny-wise" because it's a compound adjective in which "-wise" means "smart."

workday, workweek

workplace, workstation

work-study