water cycle

noun

: hydrologic cycle

In the water cycle, water evaporates, condenses, falls as precipitation, and eventually evaporates again.

—Timothy Cooney et al.

As they have for thousands of years, the rhythms of wildlife migration and reproduction as well as human agriculture and grazing activities are inseparable from that of the yearly water cycle.

—Peter Warshall

… run by solar energy that helps cause winds, energizes plants, and powers the water cycle.

—David M. Armstrong et al.

Examples of water cycle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Scientists warn the Amazon may be nearing a tipping point of irreversible collapse, threatening the water cycles and agricultural lifelines of South America. —Felicia Jackson, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025

Snow contamination in the northern Rockies now threatens this vital component of the water cycle. —Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 2 Apr. 2025

Dams cause deforestation, and destroy a region’s natural water cycle. —Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025

Drained for agriculture, fragmented by urban expansion and cut off from their natural water cycles, the U.K. lost nearly 90% of its historic wetlands—taking entire ecosystems down with them. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for water cycle

• recycle
• motorcycle

Kids Definition

water cycle

noun

: hydrologic cycle