WATER

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does water mean? 

• WATER (noun)
  The noun WATER has 6 senses:

1. 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

2. the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean)

3. once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles)

4. a facility that provides a source of water

5. liquid excretory product

6. a liquid necessary for the life of most animals and plants

  Familiarity information: WATER used as a noun is common.

• WATER (verb)
  The verb WATER has 4 senses:

1. supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams

2. provide with water

3. secrete or form water, as tears or saliva

4. fill with tears

  Familiarity information: WATER used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WATER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

H2O; water

Hypernyms ("water" is a kind of...):

liquid (fluid matter having no fixed shape but a fixed volume)

binary compound (chemical compound composed of only two elements)

Meronyms (substance of "water"):

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)

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)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "water"):

brine; saltwater; seawater (water containing salts)

meltwater (melted snow or ice)

limewater (solution of calcium hydroxide in water used as an antacid)

fresh water; freshwater (water that is not salty)

hard water (water that contains mineral salts (as calcium and magnesium ions) that limit the formation of lather with soap)

ground water; spring water; well water (underground water that is held in the soil and in pervious rocks)

holy water (water that has been blessed by a priest for use in symbolic purification)

distilled water (water that has been purified by distillation)

dishwater (water in which dishes and cooking utensils are washed)

bath water (water used for a bath)

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)

tap water (water directly from the spigot)

water of crystallisation; water of crystallization; water of hydration (the water present in hydrated compounds)

Holonyms ("water" is a substance of...):

tear; teardrop (a drop of the clear salty saline solution secreted by the lacrimal glands)

ice; water ice (water frozen in the solid state)

diamond dust; frost mist; frost snow; ice crystal; ice needle; poudrin; snow mist (small crystals of ice)

flake; snowflake (a crystal of snow)

body of water; water (the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean))

perspiration; sudor; sweat (salty fluid secreted by sweat glands)

Derivation:

water (supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams)

water (provide with water)

watery (relating to or resembling or consisting of water)

watery (filled with water)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

body of water; water

Context example:

they were sitting by the water's edge

Hypernyms ("water" is a kind of...):

thing (a separate and self-contained entity)

Meronyms (substance 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)

Domain category:

lake (a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land)

river (a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek))

ocean (a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "water"):

falls; waterfall (a steep descent of the water of a river)

territorial waters (the waters surrounding a nation and its territories over which that nation exercises sovereign jurisdiction)

stream; watercourse (a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth)

sound (a large ocean inlet or deep bay)

shallow; shoal (a stretch of shallow water)

seven seas (an informal expression for all of the oceans of the world)

sea (a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land)

pool; puddle (a small body of standing water (rainwater) or other liquid)

polynya (a stretch of open water surrounded by ice (especially in Arctic seas))

offing (the part of the sea that can be seen from the shore and is beyond the anchoring area)

ocean (a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere)

mid-water (the water that is well below the surface but also well above the bottom)

briny; main (any very large body of (salt) water)

lake (a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land)

inlet; recess (an arm off of a larger body of water (often between rocky headlands))

waterway (a navigable body of water)

high sea; international waters (the open seas of the world outside the territorial waters of any nation)

gulf (an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land; larger than a bay)

crossing; ford (a shallow area in a stream that can be forded)

flowage (a body of water that has been created by deliberately flooding an area)

estuary (the wide part of a river where it nears the sea; fresh and salt water mix)

drink (any large deep body of water)

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)

bay; embayment (an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf)

backwater (a body of water that was created by a flood or tide or by being held or forced back by a dam)

Holonyms ("water" is a part of...):

Earth's surface; surface (the outermost level of the land or sea)

hydrosphere (the watery layer of the earth's surface; includes water vapor)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("water" is a kind of...):

element (one of four substances thought in ancient and medieval cosmology to constitute the physical universe)

Domain usage:

archaicism; archaism (the use of an archaic expression)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A facility that provides a source of water

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

water; water supply; water system

Context example:

first you have to cut off the water

Hypernyms ("water" is a kind of...):

facility; installation (a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry)

Meronyms (parts of "water"):

artificial lake; man-made lake; reservoir (lake used to store water for community use)

water main (main (a pipe or conduit) for conveying water)

Holonyms ("water" is a part of...):

base; infrastructure (the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Liquid excretory product

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

pee; piddle; piss; urine; water; weewee

Context example:

the child had to make water

Hypernyms ("water" is a kind of...):

body waste; excrement; excreta; excretion; excretory product (waste matter (as urine or sweat but especially feces) discharged from the body)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A liquid necessary for the life of most animals and plants

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Context example:

he asked for a drink of water

Hypernyms ("water" is a kind of...):

liquid (a substance that is liquid at room temperature and pressure)

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)

food; nutrient (any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "water"):

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)

• WATER (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

irrigate; water

Context example:

Water the fields

Hypernyms (to "water" is one way to...):

wet (cause to become wet)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "water"):

hose; hose down (water with a hose)

flush (cause to flow or flood with or as if with water)

hush (run water over the ground to erode (soil), revealing the underlying strata and valuable minerals)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

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)

waterer (someone who waters plants or crops)

watering (wetting with water)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Provide with water

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

We watered the buffalo

Hypernyms (to "water" is one way to...):

furnish; provide; render; supply (give something useful or necessary to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

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)

waterer (an assistant who supplies drinking water)

waterer (someone who waters plants or crops)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Secrete or form water, as tears or saliva

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

His eyes watered

Hypernyms (to "water" is one way to...):

release; secrete (generate and separate from cells or bodily fluids)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 4

Meaning:

Fill with tears

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

His eyes were watering

Hypernyms (to "water" is one way to...):

fill; fill up (become full)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

watering (shedding tears)

 Context examples 

Give me some water, my lips are dry; and I shall try to tell you.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

At the same time, Neptune has been orbiting for many years through Pisces, a highly compatible water sign.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

About the second week of it our water gave out, and it was a question whether we could communicate with General Neill’s column, which was moving up country.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Laurie dashed downstairs for water, while Meg and Hannah supported her, and Jo read aloud, in a frightened voice...

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I endeavoured to change my course but quickly found that if I again made the attempt the boat would be instantly filled with water.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

"Why," thought I, "does she not explain that she could neither clean her nails nor wash her face, as the water was frozen?"

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Martin, coming into her kitchen to fetch water, was invited to sit down and drink.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

‘There is water in your eyes,’ said he as he released me.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Again and again I have heard the roar of the guns coming from far out over the waters.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was moving down the beach toward the water.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)