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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

Today, China is building a blue-water navy capable of power projection, operating three aircraft carriers, four amphibious assault ships, eight Renhai cruisers, 25 Luyang III destroyers, and 40 Jiangkai II frigates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026

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

As Europe’s empires continued to spread globally in the 1890s, Mahan’s prolific prose persuaded Washington that national defense required the creation of a genuine blue-water navy and bases in both the Caribbean and the Pacific.

From Salon ● Dec. 8, 2018

Ocean racing; the great blue-water yacht races, 1866-1935.

From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1963 July - December by Library of Congress. Copyright Office

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

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

From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025

"I've been down here swimming one day, beautiful, clear blue water, but a literal stream of brown coming past."

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2024

On the blue water, boats sailed or motored as if they were in an entirely different world, and it wasn’t clear, in the bright August light, where water ended and sky began.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt