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first water

See more synonyms for first water on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. (formerly) the highest degree of fineness in a diamond or other precious stone.Compare water(def 13).
  2. the finest quality; highest rank.
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Origin of first water

First recorded in 1745–55
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for first water

Historical Examples

  • Yet they were constantly after him, for they knew they were likely to get a first-water gem.

    Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete

    Albert Bigelow Paine

  • An expert would have known immediately that it was a first-water product of an expert gunsmith.

  • She was got up expensive, all real lace and first-water sparks, and just as handsome as a towel rack.

    Shorty McCabe

    Sewell Ford

British Dictionary definitions for first water

first water

noun
  1. the finest quality of diamond or other precious stone
  2. the highest grade or best quality
  3. the most extreme kinda fool of the first water
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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