Meaning & use
water
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The clear liquid without taste or color that falls as rain, fills rivers and seas, and is needed by all living things.
Grammar: Uncountable: a glass of water, not a water.
Patterns
- a glass of water
- drinking water
Please drink more water during the hike.
The water in the lake was freezing.
Water boils at one hundred degrees Celsius.
nouncountable or uncountable
A large area of the liquid, such as a sea, river or lake, or the surface of it.
Grammar: Often used with in or on, and plural waters for a particular body of sea.
Patterns
- in the water
- on the water
The children played in the shallow water.
The boat moved slowly across the water.
Fishermen worked in coastal waters.
verbtransitive
To pour water over plants or soil so they stay alive and grow.
Grammar: Takes an object: water the garden.
Patterns
- water something
I water the tomatoes every morning.
Remember to water the houseplants while I'm away.
She watered the lawn before the sun came up.
verbintransitive
To produce liquid, especially tears or saliva, in the eyes or mouth.
Grammar: No object; usually the subject is eyes or mouth.
The smoke made my eyes water.
The smell of fresh bread made his mouth water.
Her eyes watered in the cold wind.
Word forms
| plural | waters |
|---|---|
| third person singular | waters |
| past tense | watered |
| past participle | watered |
| -ing form | watering |
Common combinations
- drinking water
- The village has no clean drinking water.
- running water
- The cabin has no running water.
- water supply
- The storm cut off the water supply.
- tap water
- Tap water is safe to drink here.
- water the plants
- I forgot to water the plants again.
- in hot water
- He found himself in hot water with his boss.
Synonyms and how they differ
- H2O
- H2O is the chemical formula and is used in science or jokes, whereas water is the normal word.
- liquid
- Liquid is a broad category that includes any flowing substance, while water is one specific liquid.
- moisture
- Moisture means small amounts of water, such as dampness in air or soil, while water suggests a full body of liquid.
- irrigate
- Irrigate means to supply land with water on a large scale, usually through channels, whereas water is a smaller, everyday job.
Opposites
Word family
- watery adjective
- like water, or thin and weak
- waterproof adjective
- not letting water through
- watering noun
- the act of giving water to plants
- waterway noun
- a river or canal used for travel
- underwater adjective
- beneath the surface of water
Commonly confused: water or waiter?
water vs waiter
A waiter is a person who serves food, and the two words only look similar in spelling.
Practice
The smell of frying onions made my mouth ___.
Choose one answer.
Water used as a verb means to fill with saliva, so mouth water is the fixed expression. Flood and drip are not used this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “water”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.