water

wa·ter  (wôtr, wtr)

n.

1. A clear, colorless, odorless, and tasteless liquid, H₂O, essential for most plant and animal life and the most widely used of all solvents. Freezing point 0°C (32°F); boiling point 100°C (212°F); specific gravity (4°C) 1.0000; weight per gallon (15°C) 8.338 pounds (3.782 kilograms).

2.

a. Any of various forms of water: waste water.

b. Naturally occurring mineral water, as at a spa. Often used in the plural.

3.

a. A body of water such as a sea, lake, river, or stream.

b. waters A particular stretch of sea or ocean, especially that of a state or country: escorted out of British waters.

4.

a. A supply of water: had to turn off the water while repairing the broken drain.

b. A water supply system.

5.

a. Any of the fluids normally secreted from the body, such as urine, perspiration, tears, or saliva.

b. A fluid present in a body part in abnormal quantities as a result of injury or disease: water on the knee.

c. The fluid surrounding a fetus in the uterus; amniotic fluid.

6. An aqueous solution of a substance, especially a gas: ammonia water.

7. A wavy finish or sheen, as of a fabric or metal.

8.

a. The valuation of the assets of a business firm beyond their real value.

b. Stock issued in excess of paid-in capital.

9.

a. The transparency and luster of a gem.

b. A level of excellence.

v. wa·tered, wa·ter·ing, wa·ters

v.tr.

1. To pour or sprinkle water on; make wet: watered the garden.

2.

a. To give drinking water to.

b. To lead (an animal) to drinking water.

3. To dilute or weaken by adding water: a bar serving whiskey that had been watered.

4. To give a sheen to the surface of (silk, linen, or metal).

5. To increase (the number of shares of stock) without increasing the value of the assets represented.

6. To irrigate (land).

v.intr.

1. To produce or discharge fluid, as from the eyes.

2. To salivate in anticipation of food: The wonderful aroma from the kitchen makes my mouth water.

3. To take on a supply of water, as a ship.

4. To drink water, as an animal.

Phrasal Verb:

water down

To reduce the strength or effectiveness of: "It seemed clear by late autumn that the ban would be significantly watered down or removed altogether before the trade bill became law" George R. Packard.

Idioms:

above water

Out of difficulty or trouble.

water under the bridge

A past occurrence, especially something unfortunate, that cannot be undone or rectified: All that is now just water under the bridge.

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[Middle English, from Old English wæter; see wed-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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water·er n.

Word History: Water is wet, even etymologically. The Indo-European root of water is *wed-, "wet." This root could appear in several guiseswith the vowel e, as here, or as *wod-, or with no vowel between the w and d, yielding *ud-. All three forms of the root appear in English either in native or in borrowed words. From a form with a long e, *wd-, which by Grimm's Law became *wt- in Germanic, we have Old English wt, "wet," which became modern English wet. The form *wod-, in a suffixed form *wod-r, became *watar in Germanic and eventually water in modern English. From the form *ud- the Greeks got their word for water, hud-r, the source of our prefix hydro- and related words like hydrant. The suffixes *-r and *-ros added to the form *ud- yielded the Greek word hudr, "water snake" (borrowed into English as hydra), and the Germanic word *otraz, the source of our word otter, the water animal.

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water

Noun

1. a clear colourless tasteless liquid that is essential for plant and animal life, that falls as rain, and forms seas, rivers, and lakes Related adjectives aquatic, aqueous

2. any area of this liquid, such as a sea, river, or lake

3. the surface of such an area of water: four-fifths of an iceberg's mass lie below water

4. the level of the tide: at high water

5. Physiol

a. any fluid discharged from the body, such as sweat, urine, or tears

b. the fluid surrounding a fetus in the womb

6. hold water (of an argument or idea) to be believable or reasonable

7. of the first water of the highest quality or the most extreme degree: he's a scoundrel of the first water

8. pass water to urinate

9. water under the bridge events that are past and done with

Verb

1. to moisten or soak with water: keep greenhouse plants well watered

2. to give (an animal) water to drink

3. (of the eyes) to fill with tears: our eyes were watering from the fumes

4. (of the mouth) to fill with saliva in anticipation of food

See also water down [Old English wæter]

waterless adj

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water  (wôtr)

A colorless, odorless compound of hydrogen and oxygen. Water covers about three-quarters of the Earth's surface in solid form (ice) and liquid form, and is prevalent in the lower atmosphere in its gaseous form, water vapor. Water is an unusually good solvent for a large variety of substances, and is an essential component of all organisms, being necessary for most biological processes. Unlike most substances, water is less dense as ice than in liquid form; thus, ice floats on liquid water. Water freezes at 0°C (32°F) and boils at 100°C (212°F). Chemical formula: H₂O.

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Water

See also bathing; dampness; lakes; rain; rivers; sea; snow.

antlophobia

an abnormal fear of floods.

aquiculture

hydroponics. — aquicultural, adj.

atmology

the science dealing with the behavior of water vapor. — atmologist, n. — atmologic, atmological, adj.

balneotherapy

the treatment of illness or disease by bathing.

bletonism

the skill or talent of water divining.

dehydration

1. the process of dehydrating or removing the water from a substance.
2. the state of being dehydrated.

deliquescence

the property of a substance to attract and absorb moisture, especially from the air. Cf. efflorescence. — deliquescent, adj.

dowsing

a form of divination involving a rod or wand, especially the art of finding underground supplies of water, ores, etc. Also called rhabdomancy.

efflorescence

the property of a substance to yield up water through evaporation. Cf. deliquescence. See also processes. — efflorescent, adj.

fluviology

the science of watercourses, especially rivers. — fluviologist, n.

hydragogy

Obsolete. the moving of water by an artificval channel.

hydriatrics

hydropathy.

hydrodipsomania

an abnormal love of drinking water.

hydrography

1. the study, description, and mapping of oceans, lakes, and rivers, especially with reference to their use for navigational purposes.
2. those parts of the map, collectively, that represent surface waters. — hydrographer, n. — hydrographic, hydrographical, adj.

hydrology

the science that studies the occurrence, circulation, distribution, and properties of the waters of the earth and its atmosphere. — hydrologist, n. — hydrologie, hydrological, adj.

hydromancy

a form of divination involving observations of water or of other liquids.

hydromania

an excessive love of water.

hydropathy

the “water cure,” first developed in Germany in 1825. Also called hydriatrics. — hydropathist, n. — hydropathic, adj.

hydrophily

Botany. the capacity of a plant to be pollinated through the agency of water. — hydrophilous, adj.

hydrophobia

an abnormal fear of water.

hydroscope

a device for viewing things below the surface of a body of water.

hydrotherapy

the treatment of disorders by the use of water externally, especially in the form of exercises in a pool, etc. — hydrotherapist, n. — hydrotherapeutic, adj.

hydrotropism

growth or movement in response to water as a stimulus. — hydrotropic, adj.

hygrology

the branch of physics that studies atmospheric humidity.

hygrophobia

1. hydrophobia
2. an abnormal fear of water.

lecanomancy

a form of divination involving the examination of water in a basin.

lecanoscopy

a form of self-hypnotism involving staring at water in a basin.

limnology

the scientific study of bodies of fresh water, as lakes or rivers, with reference to their physical, geographical, and biological features. — limnologist, n. — limnologic, limnological, adj.

orohydrography

the branch of hydrography that studies the drainage phenomena of mountains. — orohydrographic, adj.

rheotaxis

the tendency of some plants to respond to a current of water by growing with it (positive rheotaxis) or against it (negative rheotaxis).

rheotropism

the tendency of certain living things to move in response to the mechanical stimulus of a current of water.

sympesiometer, sympiezometer

an instrument for measuring the pressure exerted by currents of water. See also instruments.

turbidimeter

an instrument for measuring the turbidity of water or other fluids. — turbidimetric, adj.

turbidimetry

the measurement of the turbidity of water or other fluids, as with a turbidimeter. — turbidimetric, adj.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	water - binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent H2O tear, teardrop - a drop of the clear salty saline solution secreted by the lacrimal glands; "his story brought tears to her eyes" perspiration, sudor, sweat - salty fluid secreted by sweat glands; "sweat poured off his brow" tap water - water directly from the spigot body of water, water - the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean); "they invaded our territorial waters"; "they were sitting by the water's edge" flake, snowflake - a crystal of snow diamond dust, frost mist, frost snow, ice crystal, ice needle, poudrin, snow mist - small crystals of ice binary compound - chemical compound composed of only two elements atomic number 1, H, hydrogen - a nonmetallic univalent element that is normally a colorless and odorless highly flammable diatomic gas; the simplest and lightest and most abundant element in the universe atomic number 8, O, oxygen - a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust bath water - water used for a bath dishwater - water in which dishes and cooking utensils are washed distilled water - water that has been purified by distillation holy water - water that has been blessed by a priest for use in symbolic purification ground water, spring water, well water - underground water that is held in the soil and in pervious rocks hard water - water that contains mineral salts (as calcium and magnesium ions) that limit the formation of lather with soap ice, water ice - water frozen in the solid state; "Americans like ice in their drinks" limewater - solution of calcium hydroxide in water used as an antacid liquid - fluid matter having no fixed shape but a fixed volume meltwater - melted snow or ice brine, saltwater, seawater - water containing salts; "the water in the ocean is all saltwater" fresh water, freshwater - water that is not salty slush - partially melted snow soft water - water that is not hard (does not contain mineral salts that interfere with the formation of lather with soap) bilge, bilge water - water accumulated in the bilge of a ship water of crystallisation, water of crystallization, water of hydration - the water present in hydrated compounds
	2.	water - the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean); "they invaded our territorial waters"; "they were sitting by the water's edge" body of water thing - a separate and self-contained entity backwater - a body of water that was created by a flood or tide or by being held or forced back by a dam; "the bayous and backwaters are breeding grounds for mosquitos" bay, embayment - an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf channel - a deep and relatively narrow body of water (as in a river or a harbor or a strait linking two larger bodies) that allows the best passage for vessels; "the ship went aground in the channel" drink - any large deep body of water; "he jumped into the drink and had to be rescued" estuary - the wide part of a river where it nears the sea; fresh and salt water mix flowage - a body of water that has been created by deliberately flooding an area; "many campsites were located near the flowage" crossing, ford - a shallow area in a stream that can be forded gulf - an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land; larger than a bay high sea, international waters - the open seas of the world outside the territorial waters of any nation hydrosphere - the watery layer of the earth's surface; includes water vapor inlet, recess - an arm off of a larger body of water (often between rocky headlands) lake - a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land lake - a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land briny, main - any very large body of (salt) water mid-water - the water that is well below the surface but also well above the bottom; "many marine fishes inhabit the mid-waters" ocean - a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere ocean - a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere offing - the part of the sea that can be seen from the shore and is beyond the anchoring area; "there was a ship in the offing" polynya - a stretch of open water surrounded by ice (especially in Arctic seas) puddle, pool - a small body of standing water (rainwater) or other liquid; "there were puddles of muddy water in the road after the rain"; "the body lay in a pool of blood" river - a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek); "the river was navigable for 50 miles" sea - a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land seven seas - an informal expression for all of the oceans of the world; "the old salt had sailed the seven seas" shallow, shoal - a stretch of shallow water sound - a large ocean inlet or deep bay; "the main body of the sound ran parallel to the coast" stream, watercourse - a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth Earth's surface, surface - the outermost level of the land or sea; "earthquakes originate far below the surface"; "three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by water" territorial waters - the waters surrounding a nation and its territories over which that nation exercises sovereign jurisdiction waterfall, falls - a steep descent of the water of a river waterway - a navigable body of water H2O, water - binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
	3.	water - once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles) archaicism, archaism - the use of an archaic expression element - one of four substances thought in ancient and medieval cosmology to constitute the physical universe; "the alchemists believed that there were four elements"
	4.	water - a facility that provides a source of water; "the town debated the purification of the water supply"; "first you have to cut off the water" water supply, water system facility, installation - a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry; "the assembly plant is an enormous facility" infrastructure, base - the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; "the industrial base of Japan" artificial lake, man-made lake, reservoir - lake used to store water for community use water main - main (a pipe or conduit) for conveying water
	5.	water - liquid excretory product; "there was blood in his urine"; "the child had to make water" pee, piddle, piss, urine, weewee body waste, excrement, excreta, excretory product, excretion - waste matter (as urine or sweat but especially feces) discharged from the body
	6.	water - a liquid necessary for the life of most animals and plants; "he asked for a drink of water" food, nutrient - any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue nutrient - any substance (such as a chemical element or inorganic compound) that can be taken in by a green plant and used in organic synthesis branch water - pure natural water from a stream or brook; often distinguished from soda water spring water - water from a spring drinking water - water suitable for drinking liquid - a substance that is liquid at room temperature and pressure
Verb	1.	water - supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams; "Water the fields" irrigate wet - cause to become wet; "Wet your face" hose, hose down - water with a hose; "hose the lawn" flush - cause to flow or flood with or as if with water; "flush the meadows" hush - run water over the ground to erode (soil), revealing the underlying strata and valuable minerals
	2.	water - provide with water; "We watered the buffalo" furnish, provide, supply, render - give something useful or necessary to; "We provided the room with an electrical heater"
	3.	water - secrete or form water, as tears or saliva; "My mouth watered at the prospect of a good dinner"; "His eyes watered" secrete, release - generate and separate from cells or bodily fluids; "secrete digestive juices"; "release a hormone into the blood stream"
	4.	water - fill with tears; "His eyes were watering" fill, fill up - become full; "The pool slowly filled with water"; "The theater filled up slowly"

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water

noun 1. liquid, aqua, Adam's ale or wine, H₂O, wai N.Z.

2. (often plural) sea, main, waves, ocean, depths, briny

verb 3. sprinkle, spray, soak, irrigate, damp, hose, dampen, drench, douse, moisten, souse, fertigate Austral.

4. get wet, cry, weep, become wet, exude water hold water be sound, work, stand up, be convincing, hold up, make sense, be logical, ring true, be credible, pass the test, be plausible, be tenable, bear examination or scrutiny

water something down

1. (often followed by down) dilute, add water to, put water in, weaken, water, doctor, thin, adulterate

2. moderate, weaken, temper, curb, soften, qualify, tame, mute, play down, mitigate, tone down, downplay, adulterate, soft-pedal >> adjective aquatic, aqueous >> combining forms hydro- >> fear hydrophobia

Translations

water [ˈwɔːtəʳ] n → agua

vt [+ plant] → regar

vi [eyes] → llorar;

I'd like a drink of water → quisiera un vaso de agua;

in British waters → en aguas británicas;

to pass water → orinar;

his mouth watered → se le hizo la boca agua

water down vt [+ milk etc] → aguar

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water [ˈwɔːtəʳ] n → eau f

vt [+ plant, garden] → arroser

vi [eyes] → larmoyer;

a drink of water → un verre d'eau;

in British waters → dans les eaux territoriales Britanniques;

to pass water → uriner;

to make sb's mouth water → mettre l'eau à la bouche de qn

water down vt [+ milk etc] → couper avec de l'eau (fig) [+ story]; édulcorer

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water [ˈwɔːtəʳ] n → Wasser nt

vt [+ plant] → gießen [+ garden]; bewässern

vi [eyes] → tränen;

a drink of water → ein Schluck Wasser;

in British waters → in britischen (Hoheits)gewässern;

to pass water (= urinate) → Wasser lassen;

my mouth is watering → mir läuft das Wasser im Mund zusammen;

to make sb's mouth water → jdm den Mund wässrig machen

water down water vt (also fig) → verwässern

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water [wɔːtəʳ] n → acqua

vt (plant) → annaffiare

vi [eyes] → piangere;

in British waters → nelle acque territoriali britanniche;

I'd like a drink of water → vorrei un bicchier d'acqua;

to pass water → orinare;

to make sb's mouth water → far venire l'acquolina in bocca a qn

water down vt [+ milk] → diluire;

(fig) [+ story]; edulcorare