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water.

An inorganic compound (of molecular formula H₂O) found at room temperature and pressure as a clear liquid; it is present naturally as rain, and found in rivers, lakes and seas; its solid form is ice and its gaseous form is steam.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈwɔ.tɚ/[ˈwɔ.ɾɚ]/ˈwɑ.tɚ/cot-caught-merger[ˈwɑ.ɾɚ]cot-caught-merger
  1. An inorganic compound (of molecular formula H₂O) found at room temperature and pressure as a clear liquid; it is present naturally as rain, and found in rivers, lakes and seas; its solid form is ice and its gaseous form is steam.

    uncountable
    By the action of electricity, the water was resolved into its two parts, oxygen and hydrogen.
  2. An inorganic compound (of molecular formula H₂O) found at room temperature and pressure as a clear liquid; it is present naturally as rain, and found in rivers, lakes and seas; its solid form is ice and its gaseous form is steam. The liquid form of this substance: liquid H₂O.

    uncountable
    May I have a glass of water?
    Your plants need more water.
  3. An inorganic compound (of molecular formula H₂O) found at room temperature and pressure as a clear liquid; it is present naturally as rain, and found in rivers, lakes and seas; its solid form is ice and its gaseous form is steam. A serving of liquid water.

    countable
  4. The aforementioned liquid, considered one of the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy.

    countable · uncountable
    He showed me the river of living water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God.
  5. Water in a body; an area of open water.

    in-plural · uncountable
    And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
    The boat was found within the territorial waters.
  6. A body of water, almost always a river, sometimes a lake or reservoir, especially in the names given to such bodies.

    archaic · countable · dialectal · poetic · uncountable
  7. A combination of water and other substance(s). Mineral water.

    countable · sometimes
    Perrier is the most popular water in this restaurant.
  8. A combination of water and other substance(s). Spa water; hot springs.

    countable · in-plural · often
    Many people visit Bath to take the waters.
  9. A combination of water and other substance(s). A solution in water of a gaseous or readily volatile substance.

    countable · uncountable
    ammonia water
  10. A combination of water and other substance(s). A fluid in the body. Urine.

    countable · uncountable
  11. A combination of water and other substance(s). A fluid in the body. Amniotic fluid or the amniotic sac containing it. (Used only in the plural in the UK but often also in the singular in North America.)

    countable · uncountable
    Before the child is born, the pregnant woman’s water breaks. (North America)
    Before your child is born, your water(s) will break. (North America)
  12. A combination of water and other substance(s). A fluid in the body. A fluid that causes swelling.

    colloquial · countable · uncountable
    He suffers from water on the knee.
  13. The water supply, as a service or utility.

    attributive · countable · often · uncountable
    The city threatened to cut off our water after we went only a month without paying our bill.
    Did you leave the water running again?
  14. A state of affairs; conditions; usually with an adjective indicating an adverse condition.

    countable · figuratively · in-plural · singular · uncountable
    The rough waters of change will bring about the calm after the storm.
  15. A person's intuition.

    colloquial · countable · figuratively · uncountable
    I know he'll succeed. I feel it in my waters.
  16. Excess valuation of securities.

    dated · uncountable
  17. Something which dilutes, or has the effect of watering down.

    colloquial · countable · figuratively · uncountable
    Thanks for the great video. No water, 100% substance!
  18. A particular quality or appearance suggestive of water: The limpidity and lustre of a precious stone, especially a diamond.

    countable · uncountable
    a diamond of the first water is perfectly pure and transparent
  19. A particular quality or appearance suggestive of water: A wavy, lustrous pattern or decoration such as is imparted to linen, silk, metals, etc.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wed- Proto-Indo-European *-r̥ Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ Proto-Germanic *watōr Proto-West Germanic *watar Old English wæter Middle English water English water From Middle English water, from Old English wæter (“water”), from Proto-West Germanic *watar, from Proto-Germanic *watōr (“water”), from Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ (“water”). Cognates * Scots watter (“water”) * Yola wadher, waudher (“water”) * North Frisian waar, weeder, weeter, woar, woor, wååder, wåår (“water”) * Saterland Frisian Woater (“water”) * West Frisian wetter (“water”) * Cimbrian bassar, bazzar (“water”) * Dutch water (“water”) * Dutch Low Saxon water, wotter (“water”) * German Wasser (“water”) * German Low German Water, Woter (“water”) * Gottscheerish boßər, bàsser (“water”) * Limburgish Waater, water (“water”) * Luxembourgish Waasser (“water”) * Mòcheno bòsser (“water”) * Vilamovian woser (“water”) * West Flemish woater (“water”) * Yiddish וואַסער (vaser, “water”) * Danish vand (“water”) * Elfdalian wattn (“water”) * Faroese vatn (“water”) * Icelandic vatn (“water”) * Norwegian Nynorsk vatn (“water”) * Norwegian Bokmål vann (“water”) * Swedish vatten (“water”) * Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍄𐍉 (watō, “water”) * Old Irish coin fodorne (“otters”, literally “water-dogs”) * Latin unda (“wave”) * Lithuanian vanduõ (“water”) * Polish woda (“water”) * Russian вода́ (vodá, “water”) * Albanian ujë (“water”) * Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”) * Armenian գետ (get, “river”) * Sanskrit उदन् (udán, “wave, water”) * Hittite 𒉿𒀀𒋻 (wa-a-tar, “water”)

verb/ˈwɔ.tɚ/[ˈwɔ.ɾɚ]/ˈwɑ.tɚ/cot-caught-merger[ˈwɑ.ɾɚ]cot-caught-merger
  1. To wet or supply with water; to moisten; to overflow with water; to irrigate.

    transitive
  2. To wet or supply with water; to moisten; to overflow with water; to irrigate. To pour water into the soil surrounding (plants).

    transitive
  3. To wet or supply with water; to moisten; to overflow with water; to irrigate. To provide (animals) with water for drinking.

    transitive
    I need to water the cattle.
  4. To wet or supply with water; to moisten; to overflow with water; to irrigate. To provide water to (someone).

    transitive
    We fed and watered the refugees.
  5. To wet or supply with water; to moisten; to overflow with water; to irrigate. To urinate onto.

    colloquial · transitive
    Nature called, so I stepped into the woods and watered a tree.
  6. To fill with or secrete water or similar liquid.

    intransitive
    Chopping onions makes my eyes water.
    The smell of fried onions makes my mouth water.
  7. To get or take in water.

    intransitive
    The ship put into port to water.
  8. To get or take in water. To gather water.

    intransitive
    We stopped at the same well we watered at on the last journey.
  9. To get or take in water. To dilute.

    intransitive · often · transitive · with-down
    Can you water the whisky, please?
  10. To treat with water.

    transitive
    The town waters the dirt road for dust prevention.
  11. To treat with water. To extinguish (a fire) with water.

    often · transitive
    The firefighters watered out the fire.
    Fill the tank so you can water the fire.
  12. To treat with water. To wet and calender, as cloth, so as to impart to it a lustrous appearance in wavy lines; to diversify with wavelike lines.

    transitive
    to water silk
  13. To overvalue (securities), especially through deceptive accounting.

    dated · transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English wateren, from Old English wæterian, from Proto-Germanic *watrōną, *watrijaną, from Proto-Germanic *watōr (“water”), from Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ (“water”). Cognates Cognate with Scots watter (“water”), Saterland Frisian woaterje (“to water”), West Frisian wetterje (“to water”), Dutch wateren (“to water”), German Low German watern (“to water”), German wässern (“to water”), Danish vande (“to water”), Swedish vattna (“to water”), Icelandic vatna (“to water”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.