noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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CMU ARPABET:W EY1 S T W AO2 T ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Any water that has been used in some human domestic or industrial activity and, as a result, now contains waste products.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
Near-synonyms: sewage, sullage, graywater, blackwater, washwater, poop water (informal)
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sewage, sullage, graywater, blackwater, washwater, poop water
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
water mixed with waste matter
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Etymology tree English waste Proto-Indo-European *wed- Proto-Indo-European *-r̥ Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ Proto-Germanic *watōr Proto-West Germanic *watar Old English wæter Middle English water English water English wastewater From waste + water.
Across languages
Translations
27 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Azerbaijani:
tullantı suları
— water containing waste products
Azerbaijani:
çirkab suları
— water containing waste products
Bulgarian:
помия
(pomija)
— water containing waste products
Chinese Mandarin:
污水
(wūshuǐ)
— water containing waste products
Danish:
spildevand
— water containing waste products
Dutch:
afvalwater
— water containing waste products
Esperanto:
rubakvo
— water containing waste products
Finnish:
jätevesi
— water containing waste products
Finnish:
likavesi
— water containing waste products
French:
eaux usées
— water containing waste products
French:
eaux vannes
— water containing waste products
German:
Abwasser
— water containing waste products
Hungarian:
szennyvíz
— water containing waste products
Italian:
acque reflue
— water containing waste products
Italian:
acque di scarico
— water containing waste products
Japanese:
廃水
(haisui)
— water containing waste products
Japanese:
排水
(haisui)
— water containing waste products
Korean:
폐수
(pyesu)
— water containing waste products
Malayalam:
മലിനജലം
(malinajalaṁ)
— water containing waste products
Persian:
فاضلاب
(fâzelâb)
— water containing waste products
Persian:
پساب
(pasâb)
— water containing waste products
Polish:
ścieki
— water containing waste products
Portuguese:
esgoto
— water containing waste products
Russian:
сто́чные во́ды
(stóčnyje vódy)
— water containing waste products
Russian:
помо́и
(pomói)
— water containing waste products
Swedish:
avloppsvatten
— water containing waste products
Swedish:
spillvatten
— water containing waste products
