[waw-ter, wot-er] Pronunciation Key | 1. | a transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid, a compound of hydrogen and oxygen, H2O, freezing at 32°F or 0°C and boiling at 212°F or 100°C, that in a more or less impure state constitutes rain, oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.: it contains 11.188 percent hydrogen and 88.812 percent oxygen, by weight. |
| 2. | a special form or variety of this liquid, as rain. |
| 3. | Often, waters. this liquid in an impure state as obtained from a mineral spring: Last year we went to Marienbad for the waters. |
| 4. | the liquid content of a river, inlet, etc., with reference to its relative height, esp. as dependent on tide: a difference of 20 feet between high and low water. |
| 5. | the surface of a stream, river, lake, ocean, etc.: above, below, or on the water. |
| 6. | waters,
|
| 7. | a liquid solution or preparation, esp. one used for cosmetic purposes: lavender water; lemon water. |
| 8. | Often, waters. Medicine/Medical.
|
| 9. | any of various solutions of volatile or gaseous substances in water: ammonia water. |
| 10. | any liquid or aqueous organic secretion, exudation, humor, or the like, as tears, perspiration, or urine. |
| 11. | Finance. fictitious assets or the inflated values they give to the stock of a corporation. |
| 12. | a wavy, lustrous pattern or marking, as on silk fabrics or metal surfaces. |
| 13. | (formerly) the degree of transparency and brilliancy of a diamond or other precious stone. |
| 14. | take water, (of a boat) to allow water to enter through leaks or portholes or over the side. |
| 15. | to sprinkle, moisten, or drench with water: to water the flowers; to water a street. |
| 16. | to supply (animals) with water for drinking. |
| 17. | to furnish with a supply of water, as a ship. |
| 18. | to furnish water to (a region), as by streams; supply (land) with water, as by irrigation: The valley is watered by a branch of the Colorado River. Our land is watered by the All-American Canal. |
| 19. | to dilute, weaken, soften, or adulterate with, or as with, water (often fol. by down): to water soup; to water down an unfavorable report. |
| 20. | Finance. to issue or increase the par value of (shares of stock) without having the assets to warrant doing so (often fol. by down). |
| 21. | to produce a wavy, lustrous pattern, marking, or finish on (fabrics, metals, etc.): watered silk. |
| 22. | to discharge, fill with, or secrete water or liquid, as the eyes when irritated, or as the mouth at the sight or thought of tempting food. |
| 23. | to drink water, as an animal. |
| 24. | to take in a supply of water, as a ship: Our ship will water at Savannah. |
| 25. | of or pertaining to water in any way: a water journey. |
| 26. | holding, or designed to hold, water: a water jug. |
| 27. | worked or powered by water: a water turbine. |
| 28. | heating, pumping, or circulating water (often used in combination): hot-water furnace; city waterworks. |
| 29. | used in or on water: water skis. |
| 30. | containing or prepared with water, as for hardening or dilution: water mortar. |
| 31. | located or occurring on, in, or by water: water music; water frontage. |
| 32. | residing by or in, or ruling over, water: water people; water deities. |
| 33. | above water, out of embarrassment or trouble, esp. of a financial nature: They had so many medical bills that they could hardly keep their heads above water. |
| 34. | break water,
|
| 35. | by water, by ship or boat: to send goods by water. |
| 36. | dead in the water. dead (def. 41). |
| 37. | hold water,
|
| 38. | in deep water, in great distress or difficulty: Their marriage has been in deep water for some time. |
| 39. | in hot water. hot water. |
| 40. | like water, lavishly; abundantly; freely: The champagne flowed like water. |
| 41. | make one's mouth water, to excite a desire or appetite for something: The roasting turkey made our mouths water. |
| 42. | make water,
|
| 43. | tread water. tread (def. 23). |
] —Related forms
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| wa·ter
(wô'tər, wŏt'ər) Pronunciation Key
n.
v. wa·tered, wa·ter·ing, wa·ters v. tr.
v. intr.
Phrasal Verb(s): water down To reduce the strength or effectiveness of: "It seemed clear by late autumn that the ban would be significantly watered down or removed altogether before the trade bill became law" (George R. Packard). Idiom(s): above water Out of difficulty or trouble. Idiom(s): water under the bridge A past occurrence, especially something unfortunate, that cannot be undone or rectified: All that is now just water under the bridge. [Middle English, from Old English wæter; see wed-1 in Indo-European roots.] wa'ter·er n. Word History: Water is wet, even etymologically. The Indo-European root of water is *wed-, "wet." This root could appear in several guises—with the vowel e, as here, or as *wod-, or with no vowel between the w and d, yielding *ud-. All three forms of the root appear in English either in native or in borrowed words. From a form with a long e, *wēd-, which by Grimm's Law became *wēt- in Germanic, we have Old English wǣt, "wet," which became modern English wet. The form *wod-, in a suffixed form *wod-ōr, became *watar in Germanic and eventually water in modern English. From the form *ud- the Greeks got their word for water, hud-ōr, the source of our prefix hydro- and related words like hydrant. The suffixes *-rā and *-ros added to the form *ud- yielded the Greek word hudrā, "water snake" (borrowed into English as hydra), and the Germanic word *otraz, the source of our word otter, the water animal. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
water (n.1)
water (v.)
water (n.2)
| water | |
noun | |
| 1. | binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent |
| 2. | the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean); "they invaded our territorial waters"; "they were sitting by the water's edge" [syn: body of water] |
| 3. | once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles) |
| 4. | a facility that provides a source of water; "the town debated the purification of the water supply"; "first you have to cut off the water" [syn: water system] |
| 5. | liquid excretory product; "there was blood in his urine"; "the child had to make water" [syn: urine] |
| 6. | a liquid necessary for the life of most animals and plants; "he asked for a drink of water" |
verb | |
| 1. | supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams; "Water the fields" |
| 2. | provide with water; "We watered the buffalo" |
| 3. | secrete or form water, as tears or saliva; "My mouth watered at the prospect of a good dinner"; "His eyes watered" |
| 4. | fill with tears; "His eyes were watering" |
water
In addition to the idioms beginning with water, also see above water; backwater; blood is thicker than water; blow out (of the water); come on in (the water's fine); dead in the water; fish in troubled waters; fish out of water; head above water; hell or high water; high-water mark; hold water; hot water; in deep (water); keep one's head (above water); like water off a duck's back; make one's mouth water; muddy the waters; of the first water; pour cold water on; pour oil on troubled waters; still waters run deep; take to (like a duck to water); throw out the baby with the bath water; tread water; you can lead a horse to water.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
| water
(wô'tər) Pronunciation Key
A colorless, odorless compound of hydrogen and oxygen. Water covers about three-quarters of the Earth's surface in solid form (ice) and liquid form, and is prevalent in the lower atmosphere in its gaseous form, water vapor. Water is an unusually good solvent for a large variety of substances, and is an essential component of all organisms, being necessary for most biological processes. Unlike most substances, water is less dense as ice than in liquid form; thus, ice floats on liquid water. Water freezes at 0°C (32°F) and boils at 100°C (212°F). Chemical formula: H2O. |
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
water wa·ter (wô'tər)
n.
- A clear, colorless, odorless, and tasteless liquid essential for most plant and animal life and the most widely used of all solvents. Freezing point 0°C (32°F); boiling point 100°C (212°F); specific gravity (4°C) 1.0000; weight per gallon (15°C) 8.338 pounds (3.782 kilograms).
- Any of the liquids that are present in or passed out of the body, such as urine, perspiration, tears, or saliva.
- The fluid that surrounds a fetus in the uterus; amniotic fluid.
- An aqueous solution of a substance, especially a gas.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Main Entry: 1wa·ter
Pronunciation: 'wot-&r, 'wät-
Function: noun
1 : the liquid that descends from the clouds as rain,forms streams, lakes, and seas, and is a major constituent of all living matter and that is an odorless, tasteless, very slightly compressible liquid oxide of hydrogen H2O which appearsbluish in thick layers, freezes at 0°C (32°F) and boils at 100°C (212°F), has a maximum density at 4°C (39°F) and a high specific heat, is feebly ionized to hydrogen andhydroxyl ions, and is a poor conductor of electricity and a good solvent
2 : liquid containing or resembling water: as a (1) : a pharmaceutical or cosmeticpreparation made with water (2) : a watery solution of a gaseous or readily volatile substance —see AMMONIAWATER b : a watery fluid (as tears or urine) formed or circulating in a living body c :
Main Entry: 2water
Function: intransitive verb
: to form or secrete water or watery matter (as tears or saliva)
Water Valley, MS (city, FIPS 78000) Location: 34.16164 N, 89.63027 W
Population (1990): 3610 (1592 housing units)
Area: 18.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 38949, 38965
Water Mill, NY Zip code(s): 11976
Water View, VA Zip code(s): 23180
Water Valley, KY (city, FIPS 80832) Location: 36.56833 N, 88.81079 W
Population (1990): 321 (166 housing units)
Area: 1.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 42085
Delaware Water G, PA Zip code(s): 18327
Delaware Water Gap, PA (borough, FIPS 18736) Location: 40.97861 N, 75.13759 W
Population (1990): 733 (328 housing units)
Area: 4.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Weeping Water, NE (city, FIPS 52015) Location: 40.86777 N, 96.13879 W
Population (1990): 1008 (438 housing units)
Area: 1.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 68463
Big Water, UT (town, FIPS 5534) Location: 37.06851 N, 111.66159 W
Population (1990): 326 (173 housing units)
Area: 15.7 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 84741
Sweet Water, AL (town, FIPS 74304) Location: 32.10169 N, 87.86733 W
Population (1990): 243 (102 housing units)
Area: 3.0 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 36782
Manitowish Water, WI Zip code(s): 54545
White Water, CA Zip code(s): 92282
Water
Drop"sy\, n.; pl. Dropsies. [OE. dropsie, dropesie, OF. idropisie, F. hydropisie, L. hydropisis, fr. Gr. ? dropsy, fr. ? water. See Water, and cf. Hydropsy.] (Med.) An unnatural collection of serous fluid in any serous cavity of the body, or in the subcutaneous cellular tissue. --Dunglison.Water
Hy"dra\, n.; pl. E. Hydras, L. Hydr[ae]. [L. hydra, Gr. "y`dra; akin to "y`dwr water. See Otter the animal, Water.]1. (Class. Myth.) A serpent or monster in the lake or marsh of Lerna, in the Peloponnesus, represented as having many heads, one of which, when cut off, was immediately succeeded by two others, unless the wound was cauterized. It was slain by Hercules. Hence, a terrible monster. Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimeras dire. --Milton. 2. Hence: A multifarious evil, or an evil having many sources; not to be overcome by a single effort. 3. (Zo["o]l.) Any small fresh-water hydroid of the genus Hydra, usually found attached to sticks, stones, etc., by a basal sucker. Note: The body is a simple tube, having a mouth at one extremity, surrounded by a circle of tentacles with which it captures its prey. Young hydras bud out from the sides of the older ones, but soon become detached and are then like their parent. Hydras are remarkable for their power of repairing injuries; for if the body be divided in pieces, each piece will grow into a complete hydra, to which fact the name alludes. The zooids or hydranths of marine hydroids are sometimes called hydras. 4. (Astron.) A southern constellation of great length lying southerly from Cancer, Leo, and Virgo.Water
Inch\, n. [OE. inche, unche, AS. ynce, L. uncia the twelfth part, inch, ounce. See Ounce a weight.]1. A measure of length, the twelfth part of a foot, commonly subdivided into halves, quarters, eights, sixteenths, etc., as among mechanics. It was also formerly divided into twelve parts, called lines, and originally into three parts, called barleycorns, its length supposed to have been determined from three grains of barley placed end to end lengthwise. It is also sometimes called a prime ('), composed of twelve seconds ("), as in the duodecimal system of arithmetic. 12 seconds (") make 1 inch or prime. 12 inches or primes (') make 1 foot. --B. Greenleaf. Note: The meter, the accepted scientific standard of length, equals 39.37 inches; the inch is equal to 2.54 centimeters. See Metric system, and Meter. 2. A small distance or degree, whether of time or space; hence, a critical moment. Beldame, I think we watched you at an inch. --Shak. By inches, by slow degrees, gradually. Inch of candle. See under Candle. Inches of pressure, usually, the pressure indicated by so many inches of a mercury column, as on a steam gauge. Inch of water. See under Water. Miner's inch, (Hydraulic Mining), a unit for the measurement of water. See Inch of water, under Water.water
water: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary
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