meltwater

noun

melt·​wa·​ter ˈmelt-ˌwȯ-tər How to pronounce meltwater (audio)
-ˌwä-
: water derived from the melting of ice and snow

Examples of meltwater in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Another hike was canceled due to unusually large snowfall rendering the Narrows — part of Zion Canyon in Zion National Park in Utah — impassable due to a high volume of meltwater. Mae Anderson, USA TODAY, 4 Sep. 2023 An outburst flood from a meltwater lake on the Mendenhall Glacier, located about 12 miles north of Juneau, Alaska, sent record amounts of water into Mendenhall Lake and down the Mendenhall River between Aug. 4 and Aug. 6, according to NOAA. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2023 That means there’s both more meltwater and more space to store that water. Anna Canny, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Aug. 2023 The basin where the rain and meltwater collect was formerly covered by Suicide Glacier, which used to contribute ice to the Mendenhall Glacier. Becky Bohrer, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2023 Scientists have also found that watersheds fed by glacial meltwater can soak up CO2. Matt Simon, WIRED, 13 July 2023 In fact, groundwater removal appears to have played a bigger role in that period than the release of meltwater from ice in either Greenland or Antarctica, the scientists reported Thursday in Geophysical Research Letters. Bywarren Cornwall, science.org, 16 June 2023 Peyto Lake, Alberta, Canada This lake in Banff National Park owes its brilliant blue hue to the icy meltwater and silt from the Peyto Glacier and the Wapta Icefields. Melissa Locker, Travel + Leisure, 10 May 2023 In its report, the organization writes that the peak in meltwater may already have been passed on many smaller glaciers, where the water is now starting to dwindle. Rick Noack, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Nov. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'meltwater.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of meltwater was in 1923

Dictionary Entries Near meltwater

Cite this Entry

“Meltwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meltwater. Accessed 26 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

meltwater

noun
melt·​wa·​ter ˈmelt-ˌwȯt-ər How to pronounce meltwater (audio)
-ˌwät-
: water that comes from the melting of ice and snow

More from Merriam-Webster on meltwater

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