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

American Psycho, which stars Christian Bale as a sociopathic yuppie, was one of Theroux’s first major roles, though the now-iconic scene did not give him an appreciation for watermarks and subtle off-white coloring. —James Grebey, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2025

The high watermark this month came on March 10 as Kyiv launched at least 343 drones into Russia -- according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow -- representing Kyiv's largest ever such attack. —David Brennan, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2025

Verb

Another precaution is to watermark financial documents with the buyer’s name and the date they were shared. —Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025

Google and the other major AI labs can probably be trusted to digitally watermark their files as AI-generated, but the last year has shown us that more or less any incredible AI achievement is quickly replicated by dozens of other organizations, some of whom can probably not be trusted. —New Atlas, 20 Jan. 2025

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