watermark

1 of 2

noun

wa·​ter·​mark ˈwȯ-tər-ˌmärk 

ˈwä-

1

: a mark indicating the height to which water has risen

2

: a marking in paper resulting from differences in thickness usually produced by pressure of a projecting design in the mold or on a processing roll and visible when the paper is held up to the light

also : the design of or the metal pattern producing the marking

watermark

2 of 2

verb

watermarked; watermarking; watermarks

transitive verb

1

: to mark (paper) with a watermark

2

: to impress (a given design) as a watermark

Examples of watermark in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

However, this approach is not foolproof; editing, mixing with human text, or reprocessing by other AIs can dilute or remove the watermark. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026

Text watermarks work by biasing the model’s word choices in a pattern spread across the entire document, only detectable in aggregate by the right tool. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2026

Verb

Meanwhile, OpenAI has reportedly had the capacity to watermark ChatGPT text for years, but has not done so — reporting from the Wall Street Journal attributed that to concerns including false positives and competitive risk. — Anisha Sircar, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026

According to Jones, governments need to watermark AI to distinguish between real content and deepfakes. — Samantha Subin, CNBC, 7 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1800, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for watermark

• disembark
• matriarch
• meadowlark
• patriarch
• arc
• ark
• bark
• barque
• dark
• hark
• lark
• marc

Kids Definition

watermark

1 of 2 noun

wa·​ter·​mark ˈwȯt-ər-ˌmärk 

ˈwät-

1

: a mark that shows the height to which water has risen

2

: a mark (as the maker's name or trademark) made in paper during manufacture and visible when the paper is held up to the light

watermark

2 of 2 verb

: to mark with a watermark