"Water" and "waters" | Britannica Dictionary (2024)

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"Water" and "waters" | Britannica Dictionary? ›

"Water" and "waters" Answer. Water is usually used as a noncount noun, but the form waters is sometimes used.

The noun 'water' is part of a category of nouns known as 'uncountable', which means that they do not have plural forms. However, in literature, particularly in poetry, a huge amount of water as in a storm, river flood or tidal wave, can be referred to in plural as "waters".

“Water” is an uncountable noun, so it serves for both singular and plural uses. “Water” cannot be counted. We do not say 1 water, 2 waters, etc. We know that cars are countable and water is uncountable.

Water , generally, is used as a singular noun . But when we want to refer to the water of a particular lake ,river, sea and ocean we use 'waters '.

In the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico, oil rigs attract fish. Tney found themselves stranded in shark-infested waters. Scientists discovered that even the deepest waters are heating up. The islands are lapped by turquoise waters.

The plural waters, on the other hand, is used especially of an area of seawater, and tends to appear in more formal contexts ("shipping lanes in international waters") and in literary contexts ("the azure skies and clear waters of the Pacific").

The word "water" is singular, never plural. The expression "a little water" is not a use of a countable noun "a water", it is the compound determiner "a little", which modifies the uncountable noun "water". Consider that you can't say "two little waters", because the compound word is "a little".

Pee is usually dark yellow and has a distinct odor. Amniotic fluid is mostly clear or light yellow (although it can be tinged brown or red) and odorless. You can't stop amniotic fluid. If your water breaks, you won't be able to “hold it” like you can with pee.

In general, water is used as an uncountable noun, which means that it does not change to a plural form.

'Lots of' is an informal usage and doesn't have a logical meaning. We might sign a greetings card 'Lots of love, X', or say 'There were lots of people at the party'. In making a serious point about water economy, we would refer to 'a lot of water' or 'a great deal of water'.

What is the meaning of waters? ›

Definition of 'waters'

1. any body of sea, or seas regarded as sharing some common quality.

There is no such difference in “a water” and “the water”. It is the composition of English language.

Along with oxidane, water is one of the two official names for the chemical compound H. ₂O; it is also the liquid phase of H. ₂. O. The other two common states of matter of water are the solid phase, ice, and the gaseous phase, water vapor or steam.

The only time we really use the term 'waters' is when we are talking about an area of water. For example, "Sewage waters entered their house during the flood." or "The package arrived through international waters".

Waters can be a noun or a verb.

[M] [T] You can't live without water. [M] [T] I poured water into the bucket. [M] [T] All plants need water and light. [M] [T] He filled the bottle with water.