blackwater

[ blak-waw-ter, -wot-er ]

/ ˈblækˌwɔ tər, -ˈwɒt ər /

Save This Word!

noun Pathology.

any of several human or animal diseases characterized by the production of dark urine as a result of the rapid breakdown of red blood cells.

blackwater fever.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of blackwater

First recorded in 1790–1800; black + water

Words nearby blackwater

Blackwall hitch, black walnut, Black Warrior River, blackwash, Black Watch, blackwater, blackwater fever, blackwater rafting, black wattle, blackweed, Blackwell

Other definitions for blackwater (2 of 2)

black water

noun

wastewater from toilets, garbage disposal, and industrial processes.

Compare gray water.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use blackwater in a sentence

But what—beside perhaps killing ISIS members—could The Artist Formerly Known As Blackwater do for the world today?
Blackwater Founder Wants to Fight Ebola, ISIS, and for the GOP to ‘Get Off Their Ass’|Asawin Suebsaeng|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So I asked him what he sees in terms of the humanitarian potential for something like Blackwater in the world today.
Blackwater Founder Wants to Fight Ebola, ISIS, and for the GOP to ‘Get Off Their Ass’|Asawin Suebsaeng|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The subsequent investigation of this shooting was what prompted a Blackwater manager to threaten a State Department official.
Blackwater: Murder Threats Were Just The Start|Tim Mak|June 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“American Embassy officials in Baghdad sided with Blackwater rather than the State Department investigators,” the paper notes.
Blackwater: Murder Threats Were Just The Start|Tim Mak|June 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Blackwater operated during the Iraq war with a sense that they were untouchable because—well, because they were.
Blackwater: Murder Threats Were Just The Start|Tim Mak|June 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With a heavy heart he set out for the Blackwater, and began building a fort there.
Ireland Under the Tudors, Vol. II (of 3)|Richard Bagwell
He had his experiments to watch, his potatoes and tobacco, his yellow wallflowers, in the pleasant garden by the Blackwater.
Sir Walter Ralegh|William Stebbing
He was bound to one of the logs down in the great stone pot of Blackwater Eddy.
The Backwoodsmen|Charles G. D. Roberts
Considerably increased in volume by this addition, it hastens to Maldon and its confluence with the Blackwater.
The Rivers of Great Britain: Rivers of the East Coast|Various
The shooting country is hardly broken between Benfleet and the Blackwater.
Rivers of Great Britain. The Thames, from Source to Sea.|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for blackwater

black water

noun

household waste water that cannot be reused without purificationCompare grey water

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for blackwater

blackwater

[ blăk′wô′tər ]

Wastewater containing bodily or other biological wastes, as from toilets, dishwashers, or kitchen drains. Compare graywater.