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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The storm was expected to continue moving over open waters, however swells generated by Kristy will affect portions of the west coast of the Baja, California peninsula late this week, the hurricane center said. —

Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024 The storm was located about 125 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was moving over open waters. —

Dánica Coto, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2024 The open water swim is open to all athletes, with no qualification required to compete. —

Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2024 But in recent years, there is much more open water and the ice is thinner and more broken up — a bunch of individual floes amidst open water instead of small cracks in a largely consolidated sheet of ice. —

Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 26 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for open water