water
[noun]
Synonyms:
- liquid, H₂O
[verb]
Synonyms:
- moisten, dampen, douse, drench, hose, irrigate, soak, spray

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. wa‧ter¹ S1 W1 /ˈwɔːtə $ ˈwɒːtər, ˈwɑː-/ noun [uncountable]
[Word Family: adjective: underwater, water, waterless; noun: water, waters; verb: water; adverb: underwater]
[Language: Old English; Origin: wæter]

1. LIQUID the clear liquid without colour, smell, or taste that falls as rain and that is used for drinking, washing etc:
There’s water all over the bathroom floor.
Does anyone want a drink of water?
a glass of sparkling mineral water
All rooms have hot and cold running water.
Pour boiling water over the rice and let it soak.
a fresh water spring
When dealing with a burst pipe, always turn off the water first.
contamination of the local water supply

2. AREA OF WATER
a) an area of water such as the sea, a lake etc
shallow/deep water
Rangoon is surrounded on three sides by water.
Denzil dived into the water.
He stepped down to the water’s edge.
by water (=by boat)
The temple can only be reached by water.
b) the surface of a lake, river etc ⇒ underwater
on the water
something floating on the water

3. waters [plural] a large area of water, especially an ocean that is near or belongs to a particular country:
the coastal waters of Alaska
Korean/Mexican/Pacific etc waters
The ship drifted into Turkish territorial waters.
a species found in inland waters (=not the sea, but rivers, lakes etc)

4. high/low water the highest or lowest level of the sea and some rivers Synonym : tide

5. uncharted/troubled/murky waters formal a situation that is difficult, dangerous, or unfamiliar:
the uncharted waters of the 21st century

6. be (all) water under the bridge informal used to say that what happened in the past should be forgotten

7. like water if you use something or spend money like water, you use or spend large amounts of it when you should try to save it – used to show disapproval:
Some of the companies were spending money like water.

8. like water off a duck’s back informal if criticism, warnings etc are like water off a duck’s back, they have no effect on the person you are saying them to

9. sb’s waters break when a pregnant woman’s waters break, liquid comes from her body just before her baby is born

10. water on the brain/knee old-fashioned informal liquid around the brain or knee as the result of a disease

11. take the waters old-fashioned to wash yourself in or drink special water that is thought to make you healthy

12. make/pass water formal to urinate
⇒ soda water, toilet water, ⇒ in deep water at deep¹(15), ⇒ take to something like a duck to water at duck¹(4), ⇒ of the first water at first¹(18), ⇒ (be/feel) like a fish out of water at fish¹(3), ⇒ not hold water at hold¹(37), ⇒ in hot water at hot¹(10), ⇒ muddy the waters at muddy²(2), ⇒ pour cold water over/on something at pour(6), ⇒ still waters run deep at still²(5), ⇒ test the water at test²(7), ⇒ tread water at tread¹(5), ⇒ troubled waters at troubled(3)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. water² verb
[Word Family: adjective: underwater, water, waterless; noun: water, waters; verb: water; adverb: underwater]

1. PLANT/LAND [transitive] if you water plants or the ground they are growing in, you pour water on them:
Will you water my houseplants while I’m away?
The garden needs watering daily.

2. your eyes water if your eyes water, tears come out of them:
Chopping onions makes my eyes water. ⇒ mouth-watering, ⇒ make your mouth water at mouth¹(11)

3. ANIMAL [transitive] to give an animal water to drink:
Have the horses been fed and watered?

4. RIVER [transitive usually passive] technical if an area is watered by a river, the river flows through it and provides it with water:
Colombia is watered by several rivers.

5. WEAKEN [transitive] (also water down) to add water to a drink to make it less strong
water something ↔ down phrasal verb

1. to make a statement, report etc less forceful by changing it or removing parts that may offend people – used to show disapproval:
The report of the investigation had been watered down. ⇒ watered-down

2. to add water to a drink to make it less strong Synonym : dilute

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

water
noun
I. liquid
ADJ. boiling, cold, hot, ice-cold, lukewarm, tepid, warm | clean, clear, crystal-clear, pure | dirty | fresh | brackish, salt These fish will quickly die in salt water.
salty Abscesses should be bathed in warm salty water.
salted Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water.
hard, soft | flowing, running the fast-flowing water of the river All the rooms have hot and cold running water.
river, sea | surface The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.
drinking | tap Avoid drinking the tap water when you first arrive in the country.
bottled, mineral, spring | waste | scarce
QUANT. drop
VERB + WATER drink | pour | slosh, spill, splash, spray, sprinkle, spurt, squirt Don't slosh too much water on the floor when you're having a bath. The burst pipe was spurting water everywhere.
filter, purify | contaminate, pollute | turn off/on They turned the water off for a few hours to do some work on the pipes.
WATER + VERB flow, pour, run | gush, spurt Brown water gushed out of the rusty old tap.
drip, trickle There was water dripping from a hole in the ceiling.
lap, slosh, spill, splash, spray, squirt Water had got into the boat and was sloshing about under our feet.
boil, freeze
WATER + NOUN vapour | temperature | pressure | supply | resources | quality | purification, treatment | filter | pollution | shortage | level | table Building can be difficult where the water table lies close to the surface.
power | company, industry
PHRASES water-repellent water-repellent leather
water-resistant a water-resistant watch

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

water
II. mass of water
ADJ. deep, shallow | clear | muddy, murky, stagnant | calm, placid, still the calm waters of Lake Como
choppy, rough, stormy | dangerous, safe At last the boat reached safer waters.
flood The flood water had caused tremendous damage.
rising They climbed a tree to escape the rising water.
bathing
WATER + NOUN sports
PREP. by ~ Many goods were transported by water in the last century.
in the ~ I saw something large floating in the water.
on the ~ The swan landed gracefully on the water.
through the ~ The boat cut effortlessly through the water.
under the ~ An abandoned village lies under the water of the reservoir.
PHRASES the water's edge She crouched at the water's edge to wash her hands.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

water
III. waters: sea
ADJ. territorial | coastal | tropical | northern, southern | Antarctic, Arctic | Atlantic, Pacific, etc. | home, foreign, international | Japanese, etc. | uncharted The ship had drifted into uncharted waters.
PREP. in/into … ~ The submarine had strayed into Russian waters.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

water

drinking water (=water that you can drink safely)
There is no source of drinking water on the island.
tap water (=water that comes out of a tap)
The tap water is not safe to drink.
bottled water (=water to drink that you buy in bottles)
Sales of bottled water have rocketed.
mineral water (=water that has natural substances in it, and is sold in bottles)
The mineral water comes from the Scottish mountain.
spring water (=water that comes naturally out of the ground and has not been treated with any chemicals, usually sold in bottles)
I ordered a glass of spring water.
running water (=water that comes out of a system of pipes into buildings)
Only half the city’s houses had running water.
fresh water (=water in lakes, rivers etc that does not contain salt)
This bird is usually found in open country near fresh water.
salt water (=water from the sea, or water to which salt has been added)
He washed his hands in a pool of salt water.
hard (=containing a lot of calcium)
Hard water is formed as rainwater passes down through layers of limestone.
soft (=not containing much calcium)
In our area the water is quite soft.
hot
There isn't any hot water!
cold
The water in the pool was pretty cold.
lukewarm (=only slightly warm)
Stir the yeast into lukewarm water.
clean
Millions of people do not have access to clean drinking water.
dirty
Diseases can be spread by dirty water.
contaminated (=water that has harmful substances in it)
They became ill from drinking contaminated water.
soapy
Wash your hands with hot soapy water.
the water supply (=water and the lakes, reservoirs etc where it is stored )
A dam was built to improve the water supply.
a water shortage
There is a severe water shortage in many parts of the country.
a glass of water
She poured herself a glass of water.
a drink of water
He asked for a drink of water.
turn the water off/on (=turn a tap to stop water coming out of pipes or to let it come out)
Turn the water off while you're brushing your teeth.
water runs
I let the cool water run down my back.
water flows
We watched the water flow under the bridge.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

water
ˈwɔ:tə
See: blood is thicker than water , come hell or high water , deep water , fish out of water , go through hell and high water , head above water , hold water , hell and high water , hot water , like water , like water off a duck's back , make one's mouth water , of the first water , pour oil on troubled waters , throw cold water on , tread water

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲