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

Dumont worked with a cast of non-professional actors, adopting a documentary-like approach to the film, shot against the cliffs and open waters of the Mediterranean. — Callum McLennan, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026

The serpents hunt for fish in open water and can easily get caught in currents. — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026

Search efforts are being scaled back in open waters and shifted toward Vanuatu's southeastern coastline, where currents may have carried survivors, according to Matai Seremaiah, Parliament member for Luganville, the ministry said. — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2026

The search would now focus on a coastline where currents might have carried survivors, rather than on open waters. — ABC News, 13 Sep. 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