freshwater

or fresh-wa·ter

[ fresh-waw-ter, -wot-er ]

adjective

1. of or living in water that is fresh or not salt:

   freshwater fish.

2. accustomed to fresh water only, and not to the sea:

   a freshwater sailor.

3. small, provincial, or little known:

   a freshwater college.

4. Obsolete. untrained or of little experience.

freshwater

/ ˈfrɛʃˌwɔːtə /

noun

1. of, relating to, or living in fresh water
2. (esp of a sailor who has not sailed on the sea) unskilled or inexperienced
3. small and little known

   a freshwater school

freshwater

/ frĕsh′wô′tər /

1. Consisting of or living in water that is not salty.

Word History and Origins

Origin of freshwater¹

First recorded in 1520–30; fresh + water

Example Sentences

“Without containment, golden mussels are likely to spread to other freshwater bodies in California, and to other ports and inland waters of North America, and abroad.”

From Los Angeles Times

Nicole Silk, the global director of freshwater outcomes at the environmental nonprofit The Nature Conservancy, noted that these challenges are having a dire impact on people and communities.

From Salon

If that rate continues unabated, one-third of all freshwater species alive today will be extinct by 2120.

From Salon

The Amazon River dolphin, one of two freshwater dolphin species in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, uniquely adapts to explore seasonally flooded forest habitats.

From BBC

Crews drilled steel pillars deep into the ground, disturbing a fragile ecosystem of thousands of caverns and freshwater sinkholes known as cenotes.

From Los Angeles Times