groundwater

[ ground-waw-ter, -woter ]

noun

1. the water beneath the surface of the ground, consisting largely of surface water that has seeped down: the source of water in springs and wells.

groundwater

/ ground′wô′tər /

1. Water that collects or flows beneath the Earth's surface, filling the porous spaces in soil, sediment, and rocks. Groundwater originates from rain and from melting snow and ice and is the source of water for aquifers, springs, and wells. The upper surface of groundwater is the water table .

groundwater

1. Water that seeps through the soil or rocks underground.

Notes

Groundwater can be contaminated by chemical pollutants. ( See water pollution .)

Groundwater is a source of drinking and spring water for many communities.

Word History and Origins

Origin of groundwater¹

First recorded in 1885–90; ground ¹( def ) + water ( def )

Example Sentences

Shoddy well construction is considered a primary cause of groundwater contamination at drilling sites.

From The Daily Beast

Both are major agricultural states that do remarkably little to regulate groundwater.

From The Daily Beast

The toxins have polluted the groundwater and poisoned the soil.

From The Daily Beast

He happened to be studying groundwater in Weld County when the floods came and decided to change his research goals.

From The Daily Beast

Groundwater irrigation has made area farmers rich, and kept countless towns alive across the high plains.

From The Daily Beast