Noun

Singular water

Plural countable and uncountable; plural waters

water (countable and uncountable; plural waters)

1. (uncountable) A clear liquid potable by humans and animals; the chemical H₂O.
2. (sometimes countable) Mineral water.

   Perrier is the most popular water in this restaurant.

3. (countable, often in plural) Spa water.

   Many people visit Bath to take the waters.

4. (alchemy) One of the four basic elements.
5. (India and Japan) One of the five basic elements (see Wikipedia article on the Classical elements).
6. (in plural) A sea belonging to particular country.

   The boat was found in within the territorial waters.

7. (in plural) Any body of water, such as a river or a lake.

   He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. —Psalms 23:2

8. (colloquial) Urine.
9. (British, in plural) amniotic fluid.

   Before the child is born, the pregnant woman’s waters break.

10. (North American, in singular) Amniotic fluid.

    Before the child is born, the pregnant woman’s water breaks.

11. (figuratively, in plural or in singular) A state of affairs; conditions; usually with an adjective indicating an adverse condition.
12. (countable) A serving of water.

    I would like to order a water

13. Tap water, or well/pump water, as opposed to bottled water.

    Do not drink the water.

14. (British, in combination, capitalised) Particular lakes in the lake district.

    That is Coniston Water.

Synonyms

• See Wikisaurus:water

Water is a ubiquitous chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. On Earth, it is found mostly in oceans and other large water bodies, with 1.6% of water below ground in aquifers and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation. Saltwater oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. A very small amount of the Earth's water is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products. Other water is trapped in ice caps, glaciers, aquifers, or in lakes, sometimes providing fresh water for life on land.

Water moves continually through a cycle of evaporation or transpiration (evapotranspiration), precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Winds carry water vapor over land at the same rate as runoff into the sea. Over land, evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land.

Clean, fresh drinking water is essential to human and other lifeforms. Access to safe drinking water has improved steadily and substantially over the last decades in almost every part of the world. There is a clear correlation between access to safe water and GDP per capita. However, some observers have estimated that by 2025 more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability. Water plays an important role in the world economy, as it functions as a solvent for a wide variety of chemical substances and facilitates industrial cooling and transportation. Approximately 70 percent of freshwater is consumed by agriculture.