Meaning & use
artesian well
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A well made by boring deep into the ground so that water flows up naturally without pumping.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an artesian well' or 'two artesian wells'.
Patterns
- drill an artesian well
- an artesian well flows
The village relies on an artesian well for its drinking water.
They drilled an artesian well and water rose to the surface on its own.
Artesian wells are common in parts of Australia where rainfall is low.
Word forms
| plural | artesian wells |
|---|
Common combinations
- drill an artesian well
- Engineers drilled an artesian well to reach the deep aquifer.
- flowing artesian well
- A flowing artesian well can supply water without a pump.
- artesian well water
- The artesian well water was cool and clear.
- deep artesian well
- They dug a deep artesian well to avoid drought.
Synonyms and how they differ
- borehole
- A borehole is any narrow hole drilled into the ground; an artesian well specifically yields water that rises under pressure.
- well
- A well is the general term; an artesian well is a particular type that doesn't need pumping.
Word family
- artesian adjective
- Describing water or a well of this kind, as in 'artesian water'.
Commonly confused: artesian well or Artesian?
artesian well vs Artesian
This is the adjective form; the full term is 'artesian well'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'artesian well' correctly?
Choose one answer.
An artesian well is defined by water rising without pumping, so the sentence about natural flow is correct. Option 0 contradicts that definition; option 2 confuses it with a storage tank; option 3 confuses it with a filter.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “artesian well”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.