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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

The country has to be able to build manned and unmanned ships for a global, blue-water, sea-control and sea-denial Navy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

Its northern island commands the Luzon Strait between the Philippines and Taiwan, a channel for Chinese fleets into blue-water Pacific.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 3, 2023

Navy warfare strategists working on arming the surface fleet for massive blue-water combat.

From Fox News ● Jul. 17, 2020

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

Then you'll come off early to-morrow, and try to remember you're a blue-water man who has hired out to me.

From Thrice Armed by Bindloss, Harold

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

I used a flash to create the silhouette of her against the bright blue water of the pool and the spray she was throwing with her massive turn.

From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025

The Golden Gate Bridge, next to blue water and a sandy beach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2023

He pointed to a spot on one of the charts, deep in the Gulf’s blue water lines.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi