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

The material can sit inside longline systems deployed in open water. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Sep. 2026

In those demos, the Viceroy was used as a part of a beach extraction simulation, removing an injured person from the shore as well as an open water life raft rescue. — Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 23 Sep. 2026

Odalys is located in open water more than 1,300 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California and is moving west-northwest at 9 mph. — ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026

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

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