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 book contains some interesting flourishes not included in Steven Spielberg’s film, such as an affair between Chief Brody’s wife and Hooper that deepens the already thick tension once the men venture into open water. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2026

If open water ice-skating is too adventurous, there’s also a public rink in central Stockholm at Kungsträdgården. — Isabelle Kliger, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2026

Researchers constructed a hollow fiber membrane lined on the outside with palladium nanoparticles rather than attacking PFAS in open water. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026

In a few small depressions farthest from the river, auburn-brown vegetation and peat have stretched into thick floating mats across open water, forming what’s known as a quaking bog. — Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 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