(sometimes initial capital letter) a naturally effervescent mineral water containing common salt and small quantities of sodium, calcium, and magnesium carbonates.
tap water that has been commercially filtered, carbonated, and bottled with no addition of minerals or mineral salts.
a natural effervescent water with a high content of minerals
a similar synthetic water, used as a beverage
1735–45; < German Selterser named after Selters, a village near Wiesbaden; see -er 1
How does seltzer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
You can call carbonated, fizzy water seltzer. Sometimes people who are trying to drink less soda enjoy drinking seltzer instead. Seltzer is simply water with bubbles added, via dissolved carbon dioxide gas. You can also call seltzer "soda water," "sparkling water," or "club soda." In the U.K., seltzer is considered so old-fashioned that it's nearly obsolete, but it's common in the U.S. Soda water is the original name, from the sodium that was once added. Seltzer comes from the German town Selters, famous for its natural mineral springs.
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Its nonbeer portfolio is the fastest-growing part of the business, as its Fever-Tree brand of drink mixers and Topo Chico hard seltzer are resonating with consumers, executives said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
It has supported countless cups of seltzer, glasses of tomato juice and mugs of tea, keeping our marble-top table free of unsightly rings.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
“The last thing that I normally do, though, is add a little bit of seltzer water,” Caporale says.
From Salon • Jan. 18, 2026
I drank seltzer at weddings and took my 83-year-old father to stressful doctors’ appointments without later unwinding with a martini.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2024
Venus, they proposed, had a vast ocean of seltzer.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
