open water

noun

plural open waters

: water that is clear of obstacles to passage or view : water that is open (see open entry 1 sense 7a)

The word marsh conjures up a mental picture of a soggy, flat area filled with cattails and other herbaceous vegetation, with ducks sitting on patches of open water.

—Robert H. Mohlenbrock

often, specifically : water that is free of ice

When the river froze in the fall, a mile of open water had been left between two mighty jams.

—Jack London

Polynyas were areas of persistent open water, found throughout the circumpolar arctic, places kept ice-free by currents and wind patterns.

—David R. Masiel

Because the penguins feed in the ocean, they typically set up colonies near open water and must establish new nests when the coastline becomes covered in … ice.

—Science News

Examples of open water in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Searching for closure Long said friends and volunteers are continuing to search along shorelines while professional crews use sonar, boats, and aviation assets to cover open water. —Caroline Foreback, CBS News, 24 Nov. 2025

The sleek loft is decked out with a black-and-white palette and opens to a terrace with open water and city views. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 24 Nov. 2025

When there was ice, the hunting was done by dogsled; when there was open water, it was done by kayak. —Ben Taub, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

That means dragging your gear in a sled, setting up camp on drifting sea ice, navigating around open water, and pushing through bone-deep cold. —Alexandra Gillespie, Travel + Leisure, 24 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for open water

• annunciator
• imprimatur
• underwater
• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater