body of water

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Noun

body of water - the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean); "they invaded our territorial waters"; "they were sitting by the water's edge"

water

thing - a separate and self-contained entity

backwater - a body of water that was created by a flood or tide or by being held or forced back by a dam; "the bayous and backwaters are breeding grounds for mosquitos"

bay, embayment - an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf

channel - a deep and relatively narrow body of water (as in a river or a harbor or a strait linking two larger bodies) that allows the best passage for vessels; "the ship went aground in the channel"

drink - any large deep body of water; "he jumped into the drink and had to be rescued"

estuary - the wide part of a river where it nears the sea; fresh and salt water mix

flowage - a body of water that has been created by deliberately flooding an area; "many campsites were located near the flowage"

crossing, ford - a shallow area in a stream that can be forded

gulf - an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land; larger than a bay

high sea, international waters - the open seas of the world outside the territorial waters of any nation

hydrosphere - the watery layer of the earth's surface; includes water vapor

inlet, recess - an arm off of a larger body of water (often between rocky headlands)

lake - a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land

briny, main - any very large body of (salt) water

mid-water - the water that is well below the surface but also well above the bottom; "many marine fishes inhabit the mid-waters"

ocean - a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere

offing - the part of the sea that can be seen from the shore and is beyond the anchoring area; "there was a ship in the offing"

polynya - a stretch of open water surrounded by ice (especially in Arctic seas)

puddle, pool - a small body of standing water (rainwater) or other liquid; "there were puddles of muddy water in the road after the rain"; "the body lay in a pool of blood"

river - a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek); "the river was navigable for 50 miles"

sea - a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land

seven seas - an informal expression for all of the oceans of the world; "the old salt had sailed the seven seas"

shallow, shoal - a stretch of shallow water

sound - a large ocean inlet or deep bay; "the main body of the sound ran parallel to the coast"

stream, watercourse - a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth

Earth's surface, surface - the outermost level of the land or sea; "earthquakes originate far below the surface"; "three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by water"

territorial waters - the waters surrounding a nation and its territories over which that nation exercises sovereign jurisdiction

waterfall, falls - a steep descent of the water of a river

waterway - a navigable body of water

H2O, water - binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent

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References in classic literature ?

As you ascend the mountains about its shores, says he, you behold this immense body of water spreading itself before you, and stretching further and further, in one wide and far-reaching expanse, until the eye, wearied with continued and strained attention, rests in the blue dimness of distance, upon lofty ranges of mountains, confidently asserted to rise from the bosom of the waters.

Such is the somewhat fanciful view which Captain Bonneville gives to this great body of water. He has evidently taken part of his ideas concerning it from the representations of others, who have somewhat exaggerated its features.

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This body of water was divided by horizontal partitions, which the shock of the departure would have to break in succession.

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For the Australian east coast the East Wind is the wind of the ocean, coming across the greatest body of water upon the globe; and yet here and there its characteristics remain the same with a strange consistency in everything that is vile and base.

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A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man -- who has no gills.

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In another moment he was cut down, and a great body of water and steam shot high in the air.

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Never before had any of the rescuers seen a larger body of water than the little stream which wound through their campong, but accidents and experiments in that had taught them the danger of submerging their heads.

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The broad expanse of the inland sea lured me out over its waters, and as I crossed, I saw at either extremity of the great body of water an island--one to the south and one to the north; but I did not alter my course to examine either closely, leaving that to a later time.

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New York Cut-Off, as the slough was called, curved to the west and north and flowed into a vast body of water which was the united Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.

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| Anyone who sees a body of water they believe may be affected by the algae is advised to contact the Environment Agency incident line on 0800 80 70 60.

Blue-green algae facts

Given that the South China Sea is a busy body of water in this part of the world, Thomas said everybody out there in the open sea is operating professionally.