Meaning & use
saltwater
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Living in or containing water with a high amount of salt, like the sea.
Grammar: Used before a noun: saltwater fish, saltwater pool.
Patterns
- saltwater fish
- saltwater pool
- saltwater lake
Saltwater fish cannot survive in a freshwater aquarium.
The resort has a saltwater pool that feels like swimming in the ocean.
Saltwater crocodiles are found in northern Australia.
noununcountable
Water that contains a lot of salt, especially seawater.
Grammar: Uncountable; used without 'a' or plural.
Patterns
- saltwater
- saltwater and freshwater
The village relies on saltwater for fishing.
Saltwater is not safe to drink without desalination.
Common combinations
- saltwater fish
- Clownfish are popular saltwater fish for home aquariums.
- saltwater pool
- A saltwater pool uses less chlorine than a traditional one.
- saltwater crocodile
- Saltwater crocodiles are the largest living reptiles.
- saltwater intrusion
- Saltwater intrusion can contaminate coastal wells.
Synonyms and how they differ
- marine
- Marine is more formal and often refers to the sea itself or organisms in it; saltwater is more everyday and contrasts with freshwater.
- saline
- Saline is a technical term for salt solutions, often medical; saltwater is the general word for natural salty water.
Opposites
Commonly confused: saltwater or salt water?
saltwater vs salt water
Written as two words, 'salt water' is a noun phrase meaning water with salt in it; the one-word adjective 'saltwater' comes before a noun, as in 'saltwater fish'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'saltwater' correctly?
Choose one answer.
As an adjective, 'saltwater' comes before a noun to describe something that lives in or contains salty water, so 'saltwater fish' is correct. Option An is odd because 'saltwater' as a noun is uncountable and not usually used with 'a glass of'; option C is possible but less natural as a noun without 'the'; option D is wrong because 'saltwater' as a noun is uncountable and cannot take 'are'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “saltwater”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.