Meaning & use
brook water
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
Water that flows in or comes from a small natural stream.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it has no plural and takes a singular verb: Brook water is clear here.
Patterns
- drink brook water
- collect brook water
- the brook water was clear
We filled our bottles with cold brook water on the hike.
The brook water ran clear over the stones after the rain.
They used brook water to wash the vegetables.
noununcountablebusiness
A type of bottled water marketed as coming from a natural spring or stream.
Grammar: Often used as a brand-style label on bottles; still uncountable.
Patterns
- bottled brook water
- a brand of brook water
The café sells bottled brook water from a local source.
She prefers brook water to tap water when she travels.
Common combinations
- clear brook water
- We could see the bottom through the clear brook water.
- cold brook water
- He splashed cold brook water on his face.
- drink brook water
- Hikers should purify brook water before drinking it.
- brook water quality
- Tests showed the brook water quality was good.
- a supply of brook water
- The farm depends on a supply of brook water in summer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stream water
- Almost the same, but 'stream' can be any size of flowing water, while a brook is specifically small.
- creek water
- Used in American English for water in a small stream; 'creek' is the usual US word where British speakers say 'brook'.
- spring water
- Water from a natural underground source rather than from a flowing stream, so it is not the same thing.
Opposites
Word family
- brook noun
- A small natural stream of water.
- brooklet noun
- A very small brook.
Commonly confused: brook water or broke? brook water or brook (verb)?
brook water vs broke
'Broke' is the past tense of 'break' or an informal word for having no money; 'brook' is the stream.
brook water vs brook (verb)
There is also a verb 'brook', meaning to tolerate something, as in 'She would not brook any delay'; it is formal and unrelated to the water.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'brook water' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Brook water' is an uncountable noun phrase meaning water in a small stream, so 'We drank some brook water' fits. Option 2 wrongly treats 'brook' as a verb meaning 'water', option 3 uses a plural verb with an uncountable noun, and option 4 confuses it with the formal verb 'brook', which means to tolerate.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “brook water”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.