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When the word brackish first appeared in English in the 1500s, it simply meant "salty," as did its Dutch parent brak. (English speakers also adopted the synonymous brack from the same source but it gets very little use.) Then, as now, brackish was used to describe water that was a mixture of saltwater and freshwater, such as one encounters where a river meets the sea. Since that time, however, brackish has developed the additional meanings of "unpalatable" and "repulsive," presumably because of the oozy, mucky, and sometimes stinky (or stinkyish, if you prefer)—not just salty—qualities of coastal estuaries and swamps.
Examples of brackish in a Sentence
Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Covering open wounds, cuts, or scrapes with a waterproof bandage when in contact with seawater, brackish water, floodwater, or standing water.
—Sonia Osorio, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2025
How does 'flesh-eating' bacteria enter the body? Vibrio vulnificus requires salt water for survival and thrives in warm, brackish water where a stream or river meets seawater, according to the CDC.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025
Doctors recommend taking precautions before swimming in brackish water and avoiding raw oysters, which can transmit Vibrio.
—Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 5 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Brackish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brackish. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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brackish
adjective
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