noun · 4 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:/ˈwɔːtəweɪ/
British, Southern, Standard:/ˈwoːtəwɛj/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:wôʹtər-fôl
US:wŏʹtər-fôl
/ˈwɔtɚweɪ/without the cot–caught merger
cot-caught-merger:/ˈwɑtɚweɪ/
Australian, New-Zealand:/ˈwoːtəwæɪ/
Scotland:/ˈwɔtəɾwe/
Wales:/ˈwɔːtəwei/without the pane–pain merger
CMU ARPABET:W AO1 T ER0 W EY2
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A body of water, such as a river, channel or canal, that is navigable.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A conduit or watercourse, such as on the deck of a ship, to drain water.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a conduit through which water flows
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: watercourse
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: way
Narrower terms: canal, flume, headrace, tailrace
4
noun
Meaning 4
a navigable body of 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: body of water, water
Narrower terms: ditch, mare clausum, mare liberum, rapid, Cross-Florida Waterway, Okeechobee Waterway, Inland Passage, Inside Passage
History
Etymology
From Middle English waterwey, from Old English wæterweġ (“waterway”), from Proto-West Germanic *watarweg, equivalent to water + way. Compare Saterland Frisian Woaterwai (“waterway”), West Frisian wetterwei (“waterway”), Dutch waterweg (“waterway”), German Wasserweg (“waterway”), Danish vandvej (“waterway”), Swedish vattenväg (“waterway”).
Across languages
Translations
45 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
مَمَرّ مَائِيّ
(mamarr māʔiyy)
— navigable body of water
Armenian:
ֆարվատեր
(farvater)
— navigable body of water
Armenian:
նավարկուղի
(navarkuġi)
— navigable body of water
Chinese Mandarin:
水路
(shuǐlù)
— navigable body of water
Chinese Mandarin:
航道
(hángdào)
— navigable body of water
Czech:
vodní cesta
— navigable body of water
Danish:
vandvej
— navigable body of water
Dutch:
vaarweg
— navigable body of water
Dutch:
waterweg
— navigable body of water
Dutch:
vaarwater
— navigable body of water
Esperanto:
akvovojo
— navigable body of water
Finnish:
vesitie
— navigable body of water
Finnish:
vesiväylä
— navigable body of water
Finnish:
laivaväylä
— navigable body of water
French:
voie navigable
— navigable body of water
Georgian:
ფარვატერი
(parvaṭeri)
— navigable body of water
German:
Wasserstraße
— navigable body of water
German:
Wasserweg
— navigable body of water
German:
Fahrwasser
— navigable body of water
Hebrew:
נְתִיב מַיִם
(netiv mayim)
— navigable body of water
Indonesian:
jalan air
— navigable body of water
Japanese:
水路
(suiro)
— navigable body of water
Korean:
수로
(suro)
— navigable body of water
Lithuanian:
vandentakis
— navigable body of water
Lithuanian:
vandens kelias
— navigable body of water
Māori:
hawai
— navigable body of water
Māori:
arawai
— navigable body of water
Norwegian Bokmål:
vannvei
— navigable body of water
Norwegian Bokmål:
vassdrag
— navigable body of water
Persian:
آبراه
(âbrâh)
— navigable body of water
Polish:
droga wodna
— navigable body of water
Portuguese:
hidrovia
— navigable body of water
Romanian:
cale navigabilă
— navigable body of water
Russian:
фарва́тер
(farvátɛr)
— navigable body of water
Russian:
во́дный путь
(vódnyj putʹ)
— navigable body of water
Spanish:
hidrovía
— navigable body of water
Spanish:
torrentera
— navigable body of water
Tagalog:
alulusan
— navigable body of water
Vietnamese:
đường thủy
— navigable body of water
Vietnamese:
đường sông
— navigable body of water
Vietnamese:
thủy lộ
— navigable body of water
Welsh:
dyfrffordd
— navigable body of water
Welsh:
camlas
— navigable body of water
Yakut:
уу суола
(uu suola)
— navigable body of water
