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• blue-water
  blue-water

  adjective

  designed to operate on and range over the open sea; oceangoing.
• blue water
  blue water

  noun

  water in the form of lakes and rivers, or collected in underground reservoirs. Compare white water, green water.

blue-water

¹ American  

[bloo-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈbluˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

adjective

1. designed to operate on and range over the open sea; oceangoing.

   a bluewater navy that can be dispatched throughout the world, far from its home base.

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blue water ² American  

[bloo waw-ter] / ˈblu ˌwɔ tər /

noun

• blue waters
  plural

1. water in the form of lakes and rivers, or collected in underground reservoirs. Compare white water, green water.

2. the open sea.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• blue-water
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• blue waters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of blue-water

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blue-water blue water

Diego Garcia becomes more important as China expands its blue-water navy and establishes naval and air bases in the Indo-Pacific.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026

Chinese military capabilities now include advanced missiles and other long-range weapons, electronic warfare arms, innovative weapons technology and a blue-water navy armed with large warships and smaller vessels capable of “coercion around Taiwan,” he said.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 18, 2023

Navy warfare strategists working on arming the surface fleet for massive blue-water combat.

From Fox News ● Jul. 17, 2020

It concerns the inhabitants of the 10-million-square-mile triangle of blue-water Pacific real estate now known as Polynesia, which is bounded by New Zealand, Easter Island and the Hawaiian archipelago.

From New York Times ● May 14, 2019

Then you'll come off early to-morrow, and try to remember you're a blue-water man who has hired out to me.

From Thrice Armed by Harold Bindloss

And how does Brin think Lake Tahoe retains its clear, deep blue water?

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026

These passages are interspersed with photos of bright sun, yellow sand, blue water and vibrantly colored foods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

Prof Breen-Smyth supports the idea and told Spotlight "there are people from the old guard in the paramilitaries who want to put clear blue water between themselves and organised crime."

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2024

The Golden Gate Bridge, next to blue water and a sandy beach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2023

I didn’t have time to react, so each pan torpedoed into the blue water and, like a depth charge, held on for a moment before blowing up in my face.

From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya