Definition

1. Noun:

   • A clear, colorless, odorless, and tasteless liquid that is essential for most known forms of life: It is a chemical compound (H₂O) that exists as a liquid at room temperature, freezes into ice, and boils into steam.
   • A body of water, such as a sea, lake, river, or ocean: Refers to a specific area or expanse of this liquid.
   • A supply of water for domestic or industrial use: The water provided through a public system or facility.
   • The amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus before birth (often in the phrase "waters broke").
   • The clarity and brilliance of a gemstone: The quality of a diamond or other precious stone.

2. Verb:

   • To pour or sprinkle water on something; to irrigate: To supply land or plants with water.
   • To provide an animal with water to drink.
   • To secrete or produce a watery fluid: For example, when the eyes produce tears or the mouth produces saliva.
   • To dilute a substance by adding water.
   • To give a wavy, lustrous pattern to fabric (e.g., silk).

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • All living things need water to survive.
  • They went sailing on the open water.
  • The water was shut off for repairs.
  • This diamond is of the finest water.

• Verb:

  • Please water the plants in the garden.
  • Don't forget to water the horses.
  • The spicy food made my eyes water.
  • The bartender was accused of watering the drinks.

Advanced Usage

• "To test the waters": To try something cautiously to gauge reaction or feasibility.

  • Before launching the product nationwide, they decided to test the waters in a few local markets.

• "To be in deep water": To be in a difficult or troublesome situation.

  • He found himself in deep water after missing the project deadline.

• "To hold water": To be logical, sound, or valid (often used negatively).

  • His alibi for that night doesn't hold water.

Variants and Related Words

• Watery (adj): Containing, resembling, or consisting of water; thin or diluted.
  • The soup was too watery.
• Waterless (adj): Lacking water; dry.
  • A waterless desert.
• Watering hole (n, informal): A bar or pub where people gather to drink socially.
• Water down (phrasal verb): To dilute; to make something less forceful or effective.
  • The critics argued the new policy watered down the original regulations.

Synonyms

• Noun: H₂O, liquid, aqua, flood, sea, ocean, lake.
• Verb: Irrigate, moisten, hydrate, dampen, sprinkle.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Water down: To dilute a liquid; to make an idea, statement, or policy weaker and less effective.
  • They had to water down the proposal to get it approved.
• Water over the dam (also under the bridge): Refers to past events that are finished and cannot be changed.
  • Our old arguments are just water over the dam now.

Related Idioms

• "Blood is thicker than water": Family relationships are stronger and more important than other relationships.
• "Don't cast your pearls before swine" (related to "cast bread upon the waters"): Do not offer valuable things to people who will not appreciate them. ("Cast bread upon the waters" means to do good without expecting immediate return.)
• "Fish out of water": A person who feels awkward or uncomfortable because they are in an unfamiliar situation.
  • At the formal gala, he felt like a fish out of water.
• "Like water off a duck's back": Criticism or negative comments that have no effect on someone.
  • The insults were like water off a duck's back to her.
• "Muddy the waters": To make a situation more confusing or less clear.
  • His complicated explanation only served to muddy the waters.
• "Still waters run deep": A quiet or placid person may have profound, intense, or complex thoughts and feelings.

Verb

1. fill with tears
   • His eyes were watering
2. secrete or form water, as tears or saliva
   • My mouth watered at the prospect of a good dinner
   • His eyes watered
3. provide with water
   • We watered the buffalo
4. supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams
   • Water the fields

Noun

1. a liquid necessary for the life of most animals and plants
   • he asked for a drink of water
2. liquid excretory product
   • there was blood in his urine
   • the child had to make water
3. 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
4. once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles)
5. 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
6. 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