—n.
1 a colourless transparent odourless tasteless liquid compound of oxygen and hydrogen.
Usage:
Chem. formula: H2O
2 a liquid consisting chiefly of this and found in seas, lakes, and rivers, in rain, and in secretions of organisms.
3 an expanse of water; a sea, lake, river, etc.
4 (in pl.) part of a sea or river (in Icelandic waters).
5 (often as the waters) mineral water at a spa etc.
6 the state of a tide (high water).
7 a solution of a specified substance in water (lavender-water).
8 the quality of the transparency and brilliance of a gem, esp. a diamond.
9 Finance an amount of nominal capital added by watering (see sense 10 of v.).
10 (attrib.) a found in or near water. b of, for, or worked by water. c involving, using, or yielding water.
—v.
1 tr. sprinkle or soak with water.
2 tr. supply (a plant) with water.
3 tr. give water to (an animal) to drink.
4 intr. (of the mouth or eyes) secrete water as saliva or tears.
5 tr. (as watered adj.) (of silk etc.) having irregular wavy glossy markings.
6 tr. adulterate (milk, beer, etc.) with water.
7 tr. (of a river etc.) supply (a place) with water.
8 intr. (of an animal) go to a pool etc. to drink.
9 intr. (of a ship, engine, etc., or the person in charge of it) take in a supply of water.
10 tr. Finance increase (a company's debt, or nominal capital) by the issue of new shares without a corresponding addition to assets.
Phrases and idioms:
by water using a ship etc. for travel or transport. cast one's bread upon the waters see BREAD. like water lavishly, profusely. like water off a duck's back see DUCK(1). make one's mouth water cause one's saliva to flow, stimulate one's appetite or anticipation. of the first water
1 (of a diamond) of the greatest brilliance and transparency.
2 of the finest quality or extreme degree. on the water on a ship etc. on the water-wagon see WAGON. water-bag a bag of leather, canvas, etc., for holding water.
water bailiff
1 an official enforcing fishing laws.
2 hist. a custom-house officer at a port. water bear = TARDIGRADE n. water-bed a mattress of rubber or plastic etc. filled with water. water-biscuit a thin crisp unsweetened biscuit made from flour and water. water blister a blister containing a colourless fluid, not blood or pus. water-boatman any aquatic bug of the family Notonectidae or Corixidae, swimming with oarlike hind legs.
water-borne
1 (of goods etc.) conveyed by or travelling on water.
2 (of a disease) communicated or propagated by contaminated water. water-buck any of various African antelopes of the genus Kobus, frequenting river-banks. water-buffalo the common domestic Indian buffalo, Bubalus arnee. water bus a boat carrying passengers on a regular run on a river, lake, etc. water-butt a barrel used to catch rainwater. water-cannon a device giving a powerful jet of water to disperse a crowd etc. the Water-carrier (or -bearer) the zodiacal sign or constellation Aquarius.
water chestnut
1 an aquatic plant, Trapa natans, bearing an edible seed.
2 a (in full Chinese water chestnut) a sedge, Eleocharis tuberosa, with rushlike leaves arising from a corm. b this corm used as food. water-clock a clock measuring time by the flow of water.
water-closet
1 a lavatory with the means for flushing the pan with water.
2 a room containing this.
water-colour (US -color)
1 artists' paint made of pigment to be diluted with water and not oil.
2 a picture painted with this.
3 the art of painting with water-colours. water-colourist (US -colorist) a painter in water-colours. water-cooled cooled by the circulation of water. water-cooler a tank of cooled drinking-water. water cure = HYDROPATHY. water-diviner Brit. a person who dowses (see DOWSE(1)) for water.
water down
1 dilute with water.
2 make less vivid, forceful, or horrifying.
water gauge
1 a glass tube etc. indicating the height of water in a reservoir, boiler, etc.
2 pressure expressed in terms of a head of water. water-glass 1 a solution of sodium or potassium silicate used for preserving eggs, as a vehicle for fresco-painting, and for hardening artificial stone.
2 a tube with a glass bottom enabling objects under water to be observed. water-hammer a knocking noise in a water-pipe when a tap is suddenly turned off. water-heater a device for heating (esp. domestic) water. water hemlock a poisonous plant, Cicuta maculata, found in marshes etc.: also called COWBANE. water-hole a shallow depression in which water collects (esp. in the bed of a river otherwise dry). water hyacinth a tropical river-weed, Eichhornia crassipes. water-ice a confection of flavoured and frozen water and sugar etc.; a sorbet. water jump a place where a horse in a steeplechase etc. must jump over water.
water-level
1 a the surface of the water in a reservoir etc. b the height of this.
2 a level below which the ground is saturated with water.
3 a level using water to determine the horizontal. water lily any aquatic plant of the family Nymphaeaceae, with broad flat floating leaves and large usu. cup-shaped floating flowers.
water-line
1 the line along which the surface of water touches a ship's side (marked on a ship for use in loading).
2 a linear watermark. water main the main pipe in a water-supply system. water-meadow a meadow periodically flooded by a stream. water melon a large smooth green melon, Citrullus lanatus, with red pulp and watery juice. water meter a device for measuring and recording the amount of water supplied to a house etc. water-mill a mill worked by a water-wheel. water-nymph a nymph regarded as inhabiting or presiding over water. water of crystallization water forming an essential part of the structure of some crystals. water of life rhet. spiritual enlightenment. water ouzel = DIPPER 1. water-pepper an aquatic herb, Polygonum hydropiper: also called SMARTWEED.
water-pipe
1 a pipe for conveying water.
2 a hookah. water-pistol a toy pistol shooting a jet of water. water plantain any ditch-plant of the genus Alisma, with plantain-like leaves. water polo a game played by swimmers, with a ball like a football. water-power 1 mechanical force derived from the weight or motion of water.
2 a fall in the level of a river, as a source of this force. water purslane a creeping plant, Lythrum portula, growing in damp places. water rail a wading bird, Rallus aquaticus, frequenting marshes etc. water-rat = water-vole. water-rate a charge made for the use of the public water-supply. water-repellent not easily penetrated by water. water-scorpion any aquatic bug of the family Nepidae, living submerged and breathing through a bristle-like tubular tail. water-softener an apparatus or substance for softening hard water. water-soluble soluble in water. water-splash part of a road submerged by a stream or pool. water starwort any plant of the genus Callitriche, growing in water. water-supply the provision and storage of water, or the amount of water stored, for the use of a town, house, etc. water-table = water-level 2. water torture a form of torture in which the victim is exposed to the incessant dripping of water on the head, or the sound of dripping. water-tower a tower with an elevated tank to give pressure for distributing water. water under the bridge past events accepted as past and irrevocable. water-vole an aquatic vole, esp. Arvicola amphibius. water-weed any of various aquatic plants. water-wheel a wheel driven by water to work machinery, or to raise water. water-wings inflated floats fixed on the arms of a person learning to swim.
Derivatives:
waterer n. waterless adj.
Etymology: OE waeligter f. Gmc, rel. to WET
Useful english dictionary. 2012.