water clock
noun
: an instrument designed to measure time by the fall or flow of a quantity of water
called also clepsydra
Examples of water clock in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Before time zones, people used other methods of telling time like sun dials and water clocks.
—
Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Mar. 2024
The story of precision timing begins with primitive yet ingenious methods like sundials and water clocks, markers of humanity's first steps in timekeeping.
—Markus Lutz, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
The oldest surviving water clocks were found in Egypt and Babylon, and the earliest of these date to around 1500 B.C.E.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2023
The earliest Chinese water clocks were probably outflow devices and were known as louke.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2023
Odell’s ideas gallop between twentieth-century time studies and ancient Chinese water clocks, Amazonian factory floors and Zoom rooms set adrift, mastery journals, Mojave poetry, second shifts, segregated leisure, Ice Age sea floors and present-day climate crisis.
—Gabriela Riccardi, Quartz, 22 Mar. 2023
It’s a water clock, based on a constant flow of water, but it’s a mechanical device.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 28 Jan. 2022
It’s this weird hybrid between an old-school water clock and the mechanical clocks that would be developed in Europe a century or two later.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 28 Jan. 2022
The sound of the water clock slowly filling up and then suddenly emptying brings a subtle sense of temporality that is at the same time an invitation to disconnect from time.
—Felicity Carter, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2021
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.
Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Mar. 2024
The story of precision timing begins with primitive yet ingenious methods like sundials and water clocks, markers of humanity's first steps in timekeeping.
—Markus Lutz, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
The oldest surviving water clocks were found in Egypt and Babylon, and the earliest of these date to around 1500 B.C.E.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2023
The earliest Chinese water clocks were probably outflow devices and were known as louke.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2023
Odell’s ideas gallop between twentieth-century time studies and ancient Chinese water clocks, Amazonian factory floors and Zoom rooms set adrift, mastery journals, Mojave poetry, second shifts, segregated leisure, Ice Age sea floors and present-day climate crisis.
—Gabriela Riccardi, Quartz, 22 Mar. 2023
It’s a water clock, based on a constant flow of water, but it’s a mechanical device.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 28 Jan. 2022
It’s this weird hybrid between an old-school water clock and the mechanical clocks that would be developed in Europe a century or two later.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 28 Jan. 2022
The sound of the water clock slowly filling up and then suddenly emptying brings a subtle sense of temporality that is at the same time an invitation to disconnect from time.
—Felicity Carter, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2021
Dictionary Entries Near water clock
Cite this Entry
“Water clock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/water%20clock. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share