watertight
Americanadjective
-
constructed or fitted so tightly as to be impervious to water.
The ship had six watertight compartments.
-
so devised or planned as to be impossible to defeat, evade, or nullify.
a watertight contract; a watertight alibi.
adjective
-
not permitting the passage of water either in or out
a watertight boat
-
without loopholes
a watertight argument
-
kept separate from other subjects or influences
different disciplines are often thought of in watertight compartments
Other Word Forms
- nonwatertight adjective
- watertightness noun
Etymology
Origin of watertight
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The ship also had a series of watertight compartments and could remain afloat if up to four were breached.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
The crew needed a watertight soundstage for that scene, so they savvily constructed the set in the school’s empty pool, where overflowing water would not be an issue.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 29, 2025
Tsui said he followed the inquest with "incredulity" as one witness after another dodged responsibility for the missing watertight door, a fault traced back to the ship's origin at a local shipyard.
From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025
Extent of the flooding if the bulkhead had been watertight.
From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025
Like, each of us starts out as a watertight vessel.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
