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

Some cruise ships have itineraries that take passengers through open waters where the northern lights may appear overhead. —Jamie Davis Smith, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2025

Without the ice, they are forced to hunt in open water, which is a difficult feat for the large apex predator. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 30 Jan. 2025

But from about 50 million years to 35 million years ago, during a period of intense global warming called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), anglerfish began moving into the vast open waters of the deep sea. —Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 21 Jan. 2025

Oceanic whitetips typically scavenge and feed opportunistically in open waters. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined above