meltwater

noun

melt·​wa·​ter ˈmelt-ˌwȯ-tər 

-ˌwä-

: water derived from the melting of ice and snow

Examples of meltwater in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At temperatures hovering around 0 degrees Celsius, the resulting meltwater ponds could have served as habitable environments for early life. —David Bressan, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025

Throughout the Colorado headwaters, snowpack and its meltwater fluctuate yearly, sometimes wildly, with big years occasionally pulling Lake Powell back from the brink of losing its ability to produce hydropower. —Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 4 Apr. 2025

At the end of the Cryogenian, when the ice melted and the frozen continents thawed, a surplus of nutrient-rich meltwater flooded Earth. —David Bressan, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025

Icebergs are much more effective at disrupting the current than meltwater from land, in part because icebergs can carry fresh water directly out to the locations where the current sinks. —Jerry McManus, The Conversation, 30 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for meltwater

• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater
• granddaughter
• groundwater
• headwater

Kids Definition

meltwater

noun

melt·​wa·​ter ˈmelt-ˌwȯt-ər 

-ˌwät-

: water that comes from the melting of ice and snow