Standard Lemma guide

watercress

noun · 5 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈwɔːtəkɹɛs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˈwɔtəɹkɹɛs/
  • CMU ARPABET: W AO1 T ER0 K R EH2 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A perennial European herb, Nasturtium officinale, that grows in freshwater streams; used in salads and as a garnish.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A similar plant, Nasturtium microphyllum.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

of a moderate yellow-green color that is greener and deeper than moss green and yellower and darker than pea green

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cress green, cresson

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

cresses that grow in clear ponds and streams

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cress

5

noun

Meaning 5

any of several water-loving cresses

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cress, cress plant

Narrower terms: American watercress, mountain watercress, Cardamine rotundifolia, common watercress, Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum, Nasturtium officinale, marsh cress, yellow watercress, Rorippa islandica, great yellowcress, Rorippa amphibia, Nasturtium amphibium

History

Etymology

From Middle English water cresse, water-kresse, watercrasse, water cars, equivalent to water + cress. Cognate with West Frisian waterkers (“watercress”), Dutch waterkers (“watercress”), Swedish vattenkrasse (“watercress”).

Across languages

Translations

102 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: قُرَّة (qurra) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Arabic: حُرْف (ḥurf) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Aragonese: berro — Nasturtium officinale
  • Armenian: ջրկոտեմ (ǰrkotem) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Armenian: հորփ կոտեմ (horpʻ kotem) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Middle Armenian: ջրկոտեմ (ǰrkotem) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Bulgarian: кресон (kreson) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Bulgarian: пореч (poreč) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Catalan: creixen — Nasturtium officinale
  • Chinese Cantonese: 西洋菜 (sai1 joeng4 coi3) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Chinese Mandarin: 西洋菜 (xīyángcài) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Chinese Mandarin: 豆瓣菜 (dòubàncài) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Czech: potočnice — Nasturtium officinale
  • Czech: řeřicha — Nasturtium officinale
  • Czech: potočnice lékařská — Nasturtium officinale
  • Danish: tykskulpet Brøndkarse — Nasturtium officinale
  • Dutch: witte waterkers — Nasturtium officinale
  • Esperanto: akvokreso — Nasturtium officinale
  • Finnish: vesikrassi — Nasturtium officinale
  • French: cresson de fontaine — Nasturtium officinale
  • West-Frisian: wyt wetterleppeltsje — Nasturtium officinale
  • Galician: agrón — Nasturtium officinale
  • Galician: berro — Nasturtium officinale
  • German: Brunnenkresse — Nasturtium officinale
  • German: Echte Brunnenkresse — Nasturtium officinale
  • German: Wasserkresse — Nasturtium officinale
  • Hebrew: גרגיר הנחלים — Nasturtium officinale
  • Hungarian: vízitorma — Nasturtium officinale
  • Icelandic: brunnkarsi — Nasturtium officinale
  • Icelandic: brunnperla — Nasturtium officinale
  • Irish: biolar — Nasturtium officinale
  • Italian: nasturzio — Nasturtium officinale
  • Italian: cresscionde d'acqua — Nasturtium officinale
  • Japanese: クレソン (kureson) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Japanese: オランダガラシ (orandagarashi) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Kabuverdianu: algriom — Nasturtium officinale
  • Korean: 물냉이 (mullaeng'i) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Korean: 크레송 (keuresong) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Central Kurdish: کووزەڵە (kûzelle) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Latin: nasturtium — Nasturtium officinale
  • Malay: selada air — Nasturtium officinale
  • Māori: kōwhitiwhiti — Nasturtium officinale
  • Māori: wātakirihi — Nasturtium officinale
  • Navajo: táłkááʼ dah yikał — Nasturtium officinale
  • Norman: cresson — Nasturtium officinale
  • Persian: ترتیزک (tartizak) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Persian: شاهی (šâhi) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Polish: rukiew — Nasturtium officinale
  • Polish: rukiew wodna — Nasturtium officinale
  • Portuguese: agrião — Nasturtium officinale
  • Romanian: năsturel — Nasturtium officinale
  • Romanian: creson — Nasturtium officinale
  • Romanian: cardama — Nasturtium officinale
  • Russian: жеру́ха (žerúxa) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Russian: водяно́й кре́сс (vodjanój kréss) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Russian: брункре́сс (brunkréss) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Serbo-Croatian: drèzga — Nasturtium officinale
  • Serbo-Croatian: derezga — Nasturtium officinale
  • Serbo-Croatian: pòtočārka — Nasturtium officinale
  • Serbo-Croatian: dragušac — Nasturtium officinale
  • Serbo-Croatian: grbač — Nasturtium officinale
  • Serbo-Croatian: vodena kresa — Nasturtium officinale
  • Slovak: žerucha — Nasturtium officinale
  • Slovene: vodna kreša — Nasturtium officinale
  • Lower Sorbian: studnina krjasa — Nasturtium officinale
  • Upper Sorbian: lěkarska ropucha — Nasturtium officinale
  • Spanish: berro — Nasturtium officinale
  • Swedish: källfräne — Nasturtium officinale
  • Swedish: källkrasse — Nasturtium officinale
  • Swedish: vattenkrasse — Nasturtium officinale
  • Tagalog: kangkong — Nasturtium officinale
  • Turkish: su teresi — Nasturtium officinale
  • Ottoman Turkish: بولاق اوتی (bulak otu) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Vietnamese: cải xoong — Nasturtium officinale
  • Welsh: berwr y dŵr — Nasturtium officinale
  • Welsh: berwr y ffynnon — Nasturtium officinale
  • Yiddish: וואַסערכריין (vaserkhreyn) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Yiddish: זשערעכע (zherekhe) — Nasturtium officinale
  • Catalan: creixen — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Chinese Mandarin: 西洋菜 (xīyángcài) — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Czech: potočnice — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Dutch: slanke waterkers — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Esperanto: akvokreso — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Esperanto: nasturcio — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Finnish: pikkuvesikrassi — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Galician: agrón — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • German: Bastard-Brunnenkresse — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Icelandic: vætukarsi — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Italian: nasturzio — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Italian: crescione d'acqua — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Japanese: クレソン (kureson) — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Norwegian: brønnkarse — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Ossetian: дудгӕ (dudgæ) — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Persian: آبتره — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Polish: rukiew drobnolistna — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Portuguese: agrião — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Romanian: năsturel — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Romanian: creson — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Scottish Gaelic: biolar — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Spanish: berro — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Spanish: cresón — Nasturtium microphyllum
  • Spanish: berro de agua — Nasturtium microphyllum
Real reading context

watercress in complete knowledge articles