Standard Lemma guide

waterproof

adj · noun · verb · 11 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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈwɔːtəˌpruːf/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈwɔt̬ɚˌpruf/
  • General-American: /ˈwɑ(ː)t̬ɚ-/
  • CMU ARPABET: W AO1 T ER0 P R UW2 F Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Resistant to the effects of water.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

Qualifier: but common

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: water-resistant

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Made of or covered with material that doesn't allow water in; impervious to water and immune to its effects.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: strictly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: waterfast, watertight

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: impervious

3

adj

Meaning 3

Incapable of failing; unassailable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Not dependent on an aquatic environment to live; thus, able to live on dry land, or at least in a semiaquatic environment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncommon

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A substance or preparation for rendering cloth, leather, etc., impervious to water.

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

6

noun

Meaning 6

Cloth made waterproof, or any article made of such cloth, or of other waterproof material, as rubber; especially, an outer garment made of such material.

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

7

verb

Meaning 7

To make waterproof or water-resistant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective satellite

Meaning 8

not permitting the passage of water

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: rainproof, waterproofed

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

a water-resistant coat

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: raincoat

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: coat

Narrower terms: Burberry, macintosh, mackintosh, mac, mack, trench coat

10

noun

Meaning 10

any fabric impervious to water

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fabric, cloth, material, textile

11

verb

Meaning 11

make watertight

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Waterproof the coat

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: seal, seal off

History

Etymology

From water + -proof. Compare West Frisian wetterproef (“waterproof”), Dutch waterproef (“waterproof”).

Across languages

Translations

106 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُقَاوِم لِلْمَاء (muqāwim lilmāʔ) — resistant to water
  • Azerbaijani: sukeçirməz — resistant to water
  • Azerbaijani: sukeçirməyən — resistant to water
  • Bulgarian: непромока́ем (nepromokáem) — resistant to water
  • Bulgarian: водонепроница́ем (vodonepronicáem) — resistant to water
  • Catalan: submergible — resistant to water
  • Chinese Mandarin: 防水的 (fángshuǐde) — resistant to water
  • Crimean Tatar: suv keçmez — resistant to water
  • Danish: vandfast — resistant to water
  • Finnish: vedenkestävä — resistant to water
  • French: résistant à l'eau — resistant to water
  • Galician: impermeable — resistant to water
  • Galician: impermeábel — resistant to water
  • Georgian: წყალგაუმტარი (c̣q̇algaumṭari) — resistant to water
  • Georgian: წყალგამძლე (c̣q̇algamʒle) — resistant to water
  • German: wasserfest — resistant to water
  • Greek: αδιάβροχος (adiávrochos) — resistant to water
  • Hindi: जलरोधी (jalrodhī) — resistant to water
  • Hungarian: vízálló — resistant to water
  • Indonesian: anti-air — resistant to water
  • Irish: uiscedhíonach — resistant to water
  • Italian: impermeabile — resistant to water
  • Italian: a tenuta stagna — resistant to water
  • Japanese: 防水の (bōsui-no) — resistant to water
  • Kazakh: суөткізбейтін (suötkızbeitın) — resistant to water
  • Malay: kalis air — resistant to water
  • Malay: kedap air — resistant to water
  • Malay: waterpruf — resistant to water
  • Māori: maru — resistant to water
  • Māori: pītongatonga — resistant to water
  • Norwegian: vanntett — resistant to water
  • Persian: واترپروف (vâterpruf) — resistant to water
  • Polish: wodoodporny — resistant to water
  • Portuguese: à prova de água — resistant to water
  • Portuguese: impermeável — resistant to water
  • Russian: водонепроница́емый (vodonepronicájemyj) — resistant to water
  • Russian: водосто́йкий (vodostójkij) — resistant to water
  • Russian: водоупо́рный (vodoupórnyj) — resistant to water
  • Scottish Gaelic: uisge-dhìonach — resistant to water
  • Spanish: impermeable — resistant to water
  • Swedish: vattentät — resistant to water
  • Swedish: vattenfast — resistant to water
  • Swedish: vattentålig — resistant to water
  • Arabic: مُقَاوِم لِلْمَاء (muqāwim lilmāʔ) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Bulgarian: непромока́ем (nepromokáem) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Bulgarian: водонепроница́ем (vodonepronicáem) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Catalan: impermeable — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Chinese Mandarin: 防水 (fángshuǐ) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Crimean Tatar: suv keçmez — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Czech: vodotěsný — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Danish: vandtæt — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Danish: imprægneret — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Finnish: vedenpitävä — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Finnish: vesitiivis — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • French: waterproof — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • French: étanche — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • French: imperméable — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Georgian: წყალგაუმტარი (c̣q̇algaumṭari) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Georgian: ულტობი (ulṭobi) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Georgian: წყალმედეგი (c̣q̇almedegi) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Georgian: წყალშეუღწევი (c̣q̇alšeuɣc̣evi) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Georgian: წყალგამძლე (c̣q̇algamʒle) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • German: wasserdicht — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • German: wasserfest — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • German: wasserundurchlässig — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Greek: αδιάβροχος (adiávrochos) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Hindi: जलरोधी (jalrodhī) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Hungarian: vízhatlan — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Icelandic: vatnsheldur — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Irish: uiscedhíonach — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Italian: impermeabilizzato — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Japanese: 防水の (bōsui-no) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Māori: parewai — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Māori: whakapiri — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Norwegian Bokmål: vanntett — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Norwegian Bokmål: vasstett — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: vasstett — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Polish: wodoszczelny — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Polish: nieprzemakalny — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Portuguese: impermeável — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Russian: водонепроница́емый (vodonepronicájemyj) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Russian: непромока́емый (nepromokájemyj) — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Scottish Gaelic: uisge-dhìonach — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Spanish: impermeable — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Swedish: vattentät — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Turkish: su geçirmez — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Vietnamese: chống thấm nước — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Vietnamese: chống nước — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Vietnamese: chống thấm — made or covered with material that doesn't let water in
  • Māori: makitohi — A waterproof coat, waterproof clothing
  • Polish: nieprzemakalne ubranie — A waterproof coat, waterproof clothing
  • Portuguese: capa de chuva — A waterproof coat, waterproof clothing
  • Russian: непромоканец (nepromokanec) — A waterproof coat, waterproof clothing
  • Bulgarian: импрегнирам (impregniram) — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Catalan: impermeabilitzar — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Danish: imprægnere — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Finnish: tiivistää — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Finnish: vesitiivistää — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Finnish: kosteussuojata — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • French: étanchéifier — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Italian: impermeabilizzare — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Japanese: 防水加工する (bousui-kakō suru) — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Norwegian: impregnere — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Polish: robić nieprzemakalnym — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Polish: zrobić nieprzemakalnym — to make waterproof or water-resistant
  • Spanish: impermeabilizar — to make waterproof or water-resistant