Meaning & use
water skier
Last updated
UK/ˈwɔːtə ˌskiːə/
US/ˈwɔːtɚ ˌskiːɚ/
Meaning
nouncountablesport
A person who glides over the surface of a lake or sea on skis while being pulled by a motorboat.
Grammar: Countable: a water skier, many water skiers.
Patterns
- a water skier behind a boat
A water skier shot across the lake behind the speedboat.
The boat driver watched the water skier in his mirror.
Several water skiers practiced jumps near the marina.
Word forms
| plural | water skiers |
|---|
Common combinations
- experienced water skier
- An experienced water skier can do tricks on one ski.
- water skier falls
- When the water skier fell, the boat circled back.
- tow a water skier
- The boat towed the water skier around the bay.
- competitive water skier
- She became a competitive water skier at sixteen.
- slalom water skier
- The slalom water skier turned sharply around each buoy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- waterskiier
- This is a rare variant spelling and means the same, but water skier is the standard form.
- wakeboarder
- A wakeboarder rides a single board, not two skis, though both are pulled by a boat.
- surfer
- A surfer rides waves without a towing boat, so it differs from a water skier.
Word family
- water ski noun
- a ski used on water
- water ski verb
- to ski over water behind a boat
- water skiing noun
- the sport of skiing on water
- skier noun
- a person who skis
Commonly confused: water skier or snow skier?
water skier vs snow skier
A snow skier slides over snow with skis, while a water skier is pulled over water.
Practice
The boat slowed down when the ___ let go of the tow rope.
Choose one answer.
Only a water skier is pulled on a tow rope behind a boat. A diver or snowboarder would not be using a boat's tow rope.
Make it your own
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