water table

noun
1.
the planar, underground surface beneath which earth materials, as soil or rock, are saturated with water.
2.
Architecture. a projecting stringcourse or similar structural member placed so as to divert rain water from a building.
Also, wa·ter·ta·ble.


Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To water table
Collins
World English Dictionary
water table
 
n
1.  the surface of the water-saturated part of the ground, usually following approximately the contours of the overlying land surface
2.  an offset or string course that has a moulding designed to throw rainwater clear of the wall below

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Water table is always a great word to know.
So is facade. Does it mean:
the front of a building, esp. an imposing or decorative one; any side of a building facing a public way or space and finished accordingly
a series of regularly spaced columns supporting an entablature and usually making up one side of a roof
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
water table  
The upper surface of an area filled with groundwater, separating the zone of aeration (the subsurface region of soil and rocks in which the pores are filled with air and usually some water) from the zone of saturation (the subsurface region in which the pores are filled only with water). Water tables rise and fall with seasonal moisture, water absorption by vegetation, and the withdrawal of groundwater from wells, among other factors. The water table is not flat but has peaks and valleys that generally conform to the overlying land surface. Compare potentiometric surface.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

water table definition


The depth (measured from the surface of the Earth) at which underground water is first encountered.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
In the early days, below-ground burial was not possible because of the high
  water table.
And there's plenty of water, because the water table is only a few feet below
  the surface.
As the channel deepens and the elevation of the river drops, the water table
  beneath the riparian areas drops correspondingly.
The fuel will burn through the foundation of the plant, sinking into the ground
  and contaminating the water table.
Image for water table
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT