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

For Artemis 2, the team rehearsed extensively with Orion mockups in open water, practicing every step of the recovery sequence alongside other military units and NASA personnel. —Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2026

Its use in the boarding operation in the open waters of the Indian Ocean gives an indication of the vast resources the US Navy has to impose a blockade and enforce sanctions. —Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026

Because Anna died on open water while the cruise ship was returning to Florida, the case is being tried in federal court. —Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026

The main difference is that Ruisdael cranes upward, to behold a castle on a hill, whereas Vermeer levels his gaze across open water. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for open water

• annunciator
• imprimatur
• underwater
• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater