hard water
Americannoun
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Hard water is usually associated with well water in regions where the rocks contain a large proportion of iron-bearing minerals.
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.
Other plastics, including ones promoted as highly recyclable, such as clear polyethylene bottles, which hold some medications, or hard water bottles, are being recycled at just 16%.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026
She recommends it for tackling hard water stains, accidental hair dye stains, Kool-Aid stains on counters and stubborn rings around kitchen burners.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 16, 2024
Yet stalagmites offer new insights into climate fluctuations because the German researchers could examine the isotopic composition of oxygen in a southern German stalagmite that had been formed from hard water.
From Salon • Jan. 22, 2024
Some manufacturers recommend running a cleaning cycle periodically with no dishes but with citric acid, vinegar or a dishwasher cleaner to break up mineral deposits and remove films or stains from hard water.
From Washington Post • Aug. 1, 2022
She ask about hard water stains and I tell her cream of tartar.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
Definitions 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.
