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

However, people should still take precautions when heading into open water, such as avoiding swimming with open wounds. — Michelle Richardson, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

Authorities warned parents vacationing at local beaches, pools, and lakes to keep an eye on their children near open water. — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026

An 18-year-old died after getting into difficulty in the sea at Camber Sands beach in southern England on Sunday, the latest of dozens of deaths recorded in open waters in recent months. — Stefanie Dazio, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026

That trough of low pressure, given a 10 percent chance of development over the next 48 hours, was located a few hundred miles west-northwest of Bermuda but is expected to move quickly eastward, across open water. — Robin Webb, Sun Sentinel, 9 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