freshwater
Americanadjective
-
of or living in water that is fresh or not salt.
freshwater fish.
-
accustomed to fresh water only, and not to the sea.
a freshwater sailor.
-
small, provincial, or little known.
a freshwater college.
-
Obsolete. untrained or of little experience.
noun
-
of, relating to, or living in fresh water
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(esp of a sailor who has not sailed on the sea) unskilled or inexperienced
-
small and little known
a freshwater school
Etymology
Origin of freshwater
Explanation
The adjective freshwater describes an aquatic environment with very little salt, like a stream or a pond, or an animal that lives there. Water bodies that started as precipitation are freshwater, whether the water came from rain, snowfall, or melting glaciers. A freshwater lake, unlike a salt lake, sea, or ocean, has a low concentration of salts and other minerals. Freshwater bodies make up less than three percent of the earth's water. Freshwater fish and amphibians are the ones that are adapted to live in ponds, lakes, and streams, in contrast to those that thrive in salty water.
Vocabulary lists containing freshwater
South America - Middle School
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Russia - Introductory
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South America - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The finding demonstrates that freshwater cave snails can inhabit limestone cave systems at elevations above 2,000 meters.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
Until now, no freshwater cave snails had been documented in China, and the country's subterranean freshwater mollusks had received relatively little scientific attention.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
It said at every freshwater site, at least one metal or metalloid was present, at concentrations exceeding the level where "no adverse ecological effects are expected".
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Charity Earthwatch Europe says trained citizen scientists have found potentially harmful levels of metal or metalloid at 52 freshwater sites across Corby.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
There must be freshwater lake turtles that did the same.
From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
