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

When adrift in the open waters of uncertainty, survival doesn't come from fighting the current, but from leaning in and learning how to move with it. —Nancy Zamierowski, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025

In line with Marathon Swimmers Federation guidelines, only swimsuits – not wetsuits – can be used by those undertaking solo, unassisted marathon swims in open water. —George Ramsay, CNN Money, 30 Apr. 2025

But canoeing over open water, defenseless in an aluminum craft that couldn’t stop a bullet any better than a sheet of paper, Ethan’s fear gets white hot. —Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2025

Photo : Modern Media LLC The infinity pool appears to be leading right into the open water. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 18 Mar. 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