brackish

adjective

brack·​ish ˈbra-kish How to pronounce brackish (audio)
1
: somewhat salty
brackish water
2
a
: not appealing to the taste
brackish tea
b
: repulsive
a brackish personality
brackishness noun

Did you know?

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

the office coffee is often some brackish brew that's been sitting around for a couple of hours the river becomes brackish as we approach the tidemark
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The freshwater table below the region would probably become brackish, but that water is barely used today anyway. Big Think, 17 Oct. 2025 At its southernmost edge, guests can see the freshwater of the Rio Grande River meet the Gulf of Mexico, where only 35 feet of brackish water separates the United States and Mexico. Gabi De La Rosa, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025 Vibrio are a flesh-eating bacteria that thrive in saltwater and brackish water (a mix of salt and fresh water). Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025 The other adapts to seawater or brackish water sources by including desalination. Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for brackish

Word History

Etymology

Dutch brac salty; akin to Middle Low German brac salty

First Known Use

circa 1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brackish was circa 1552

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Brackish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brackish. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

brackish

adjective
brack·​ish ˈbrak-ish How to pronounce brackish (audio)
: somewhat salty
brackish water

More from Merriam-Webster on brackish

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!