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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
Cynthia Drake, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2025
Dark long-body snake eels live in brackish water where the Mekong River meets the South China Sea.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 19 Mar. 2025
After heavy rain and flooding, the concentration of this bacteria can rise, especially in brackish (salty) water.
—Lisa Rapaport, EverydayHealth.com, 11 Oct. 2024
The brackish waters are ideal for bald cypress trees that serve as habitat for countless birds and an array of amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
—Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brackish
Cite this Entry
“Brackish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brackish. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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brackish
adjective
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