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
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
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
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
Science News Examples of open water in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Authorities emphasized that the most dangerous weather conditions would remain primarily over open water.
—Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
The leg would take twelve hours over open water—a brutal endurance test.
—Laurie Gwen Shapiro, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
While many stay over open water, others can gather steam and track toward the Caribbean, Florida or the Carolinas.
—Colin Zarzycki, The Conversation, 22 May 2025
There can be a number of ways this impacts a species – prematurely reaching open waters, fish being less careful about being picked off by predators en route to the sea – that are not fully known.
—New Atlas, 20 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for open water
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Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
The leg would take twelve hours over open water—a brutal endurance test.
—Laurie Gwen Shapiro, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
While many stay over open water, others can gather steam and track toward the Caribbean, Florida or the Carolinas.
—Colin Zarzycki, The Conversation, 22 May 2025
There can be a number of ways this impacts a species – prematurely reaching open waters, fish being less careful about being picked off by predators en route to the sea – that are not fully known.
—New Atlas, 20 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for open water
Cite this Entry
“Open water.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open%20water. Accessed 8 Jun. 2025.
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