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

In Nueva Venecia and Buenavista — two isolated fishing communities built almost entirely on wooden stilts over the water — large swaths of open water are now covered by the invasive plant. —ABC News, 12 May 2026

Biggs Jones watched from farther up the beach as the waves grew and then, as an undercurrent ripped the two men out into open water in an instant. —Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 12 May 2026

Dry Tortugas is one of the only national parks that exists primarily over open water. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 May 2026

Boaters on the open water and those camping outdoors are especially vulnerable to the dangers of lightning. —Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 7 May 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