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

At the southern end of the Everglades, where marshes and coastal wetlands are most starved for freshwater, peat has started to collapse, ripping open the shallow sawgrass marshes to leave behind deeper pits of open water. — Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

Farther from shore in the open water of Huron and the other Great Lakes, another group of scientists is spending the summer attempting to build upon Rochman’s findings at the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario. — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026

Involves engineering hurdles Building solar farms on open water involves far more engineering hurdles than bolting panels onto dry land. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026

Many have shipped the idea of the show being set on the open waters. — Peter White, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for open water

• imprimatur
• underwater
• auteur
• blotter
• cotter
• daughter
• hotter
• mater
• otter
• plotter
• rotter
• slaughter