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

Paddle the marshes for wildlife sightings, sail on the open waters, cast a line off the pier, bike along more than 20 miles of oak-canopied paths (or on the packed sand), and peruse the collection of boutiques in Pier Village. —Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 2025

Agencies including the Faribault Fire Department and Rice County Sheriff's Office arrived and used cold water suits to enter the open water and pull the body out of the water. —Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025

Hit the open water with one of the several boat tour operators, spotting dolphins and birds along the way. —Caroline Eubanks, Travel + Leisure, 24 Feb. 2025

The wind was blowing southwest toward the open water of Lake Superior. —Robert E. Houle, Outdoor Life, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for open water

• annunciator
• imprimatur
• underwater
• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater