floodwater

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

noun

1. the water that overflows as the result of a flood.

Word History and Origins

Origin of floodwater¹

First recorded in 1785–95; flood + water

Example Sentences

She first felt it 16 years ago working to evacuate patients during Hurricane Katrina, when floodwaters swallowed New Orleans and rushed into Tulane Hospital, where she worked at the time.

From Washington Post

Saving lives from floodwaters means taking steps in the hours, days and weeks before an event.

From Washington Post

In Tennessee, families described waking in the middle of the night to the sound of floodwaters surging into their homes.

From Washington Post

News reports in the immediate wake of the disaster suggested that the floodwaters were caused by the sudden overflow of a glacial lake high up in the mountain, an event called a glacial lake outburst flood.

From Science News

That the United States is seeing as many or more deaths per day from the coronavirus as it did during the deadliest period last spring is no more surprising than a tsunami’s floodwaters because, like the tsunami, we could see it coming.

From Washington Post

Floodwater in outlying areas may reach six feet, the major general said.

From The Daily Beast

Everyone we met, wading through filthy floodwater, was thirsty; some were injured; most were homeless.

From The Daily Beast

The coffee was brown as floodwater silt, heavy with sugar, and very hot; and the cups had no handles.

From Project Gutenberg

No death for months, except by accidental drowning in floodwater.

From Project Gutenberg

The Seneca reservoir as proposed in 1963 provided floodwater storage calculated to reduce metropolitan damages by 46 percent.

From Project Gutenberg