groundwater

American  

[ground-waw-ter, -woter] / ˈgraʊndˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒtər /

Also ground water

noun

• groundwaters
  plural

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 Scientific  

/ 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 Cultural  

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

---

Discover More

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

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• groundwaters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of groundwater

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

groundwater groundwaters

It brings together improved modeling with NASA-satellite-validated measurements of snowpack, surface and groundwater storage, soil moisture, and other conditions throughout the Colorado River Basin in a single interactive system.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

Environmental researchers could potentially use them to search for very small amounts of chemical pollutants in groundwater.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Rain watered crops, and soaked in to recharge the groundwater that hydrated the city — something that can’t happen now, when something like 40% of the city is covered over, impermeable to rain.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo voiced particular concern about the decline in "slow reserves", like groundwater and glaciers, which she said had traditionally served as the planet's "savings account".

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

They also drilled wells to pump groundwater out of the ground before it could reach the reactors.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

"Natural hydrogen is produced over time through underground chemical reactions between rocks and the groundwaters in those rocks," says Sherwood Lollar.

From Science Daily ● May 20, 2026

"Rising groundwaters can lead to flooding of coastal cities, waterlogging of farmlands and salinization of groundwaters and soils."

From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2024

But to the surprise of Ruff’s team, the older, deeper groundwaters held more cells than the fresher waters did.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 22, 2023

The underground parking has been abandoned to the rising groundwaters.

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2022

It is, of course, not only the groundwaters that are becoming contaminated, but surface-moving waters as well — streams, rivers, irrigation waters.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson