What does water mean?
Water is the transparent, tasteless, and odourless liquid that makes up much of the human body and the Earth's surface. In ordinary use, the word names the substance known chemically as H₂O, but it can also refer to a particular body of water, such as a pond, river, or sea. The expression “the waters” is common for territorial waters or an expanse of sea. Water is also a verb: people water plants, dilute mixtures with it, or describe an idea or document as having been “watered down” because its strength or detail has been reduced. The word carries few unusual connotations in standard usage, though it can evoke freshness, purity, nourishment, or, in phrases such as “murky waters,” uncertainty and difficulty. Its simplicity makes it a useful example of how one common word can describe both a physical substance and the actions associated with supplying, diluting, moistening, or weakening it.
The transparent liquid substance essential to life, composed of hydrogen and oxygen; by extension, a body or expanse of water.
"The village depends on a spring for its water."
To supply with water, add water to, moisten, irrigate, or dilute.
"She watered the tomatoes every morning."
Used mainly for stretches or collections of water, especially territorial waters, or in literary and legal contexts.
"The vessel entered foreign waters without permission."
Water's simple bent molecule, made from two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, makes it essential to life and unusually good at dissolving other substances.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does water come from?
The English word water comes from Old English wæter, which was inherited from Proto-Germanic *wōtōr and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *wódr̥. Greek hydōr, the source of English words such as hydrogen, hydrate, and hydrocarbon, is generally regarded as a cognate from the same ancient root. The English form developed through the Germanic languages while retaining a long-established meaning for the substance and for natural bodies of water.
Related word forms
How water is actually used
The noun is neutral and universal in modern English. “Aqua” is literary or specialized, while “water” is the usual general term. As a verb, it is especially common in gardening, supply contexts, and figurative expressions such as “water down a proposal.”
Easily confused with water
A waiter is a person who serves food or drink in a restaurant, whereas water is the liquid commonly served in a glass.