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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

Its northern island commands the Luzon Strait between the Philippines and Taiwan, a channel for Chinese fleets into blue-water Pacific.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 3, 2023

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

From Fox News ● Jul. 17, 2020

Nowadays cascades of sciences, pursuits less romantic than blue-water sailing, and ranging from archaeology to microbiology, have essentially answered the other questions too.

From New York Times ● May 14, 2019

And whole trainfuls of people sneered at their country's institution in a manner which, had it been adopted by a foreigner, would have plunged Europe into war and finally tested the blue-water theory.

From Buried Alive: a Tale of These Days by Bennett, Arnold

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

I used a flash to create the silhouette of her against the bright blue water of the pool and the spray she was throwing with her massive turn.

From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025

Except this was no mirage, no pool of crystal blue water with a hammock hanging between two palm trees.

From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025

Nat’s father stood, staring out across the blue water.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham