water back

American

noun

a reservoir or arrangement of tubing at the back of certain stoves or fireplaces for containing water to be heated by the fire.

water back British

noun

the US name for back boiler

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of water back

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

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.

The floor underneath them shuddered and lurched again, sloshing water back and forth across their feet, and this time there was no doubting it.

From Literature

That would be like the captain of the Titanic trying to save the ship by drilling more holes in the bottom, in the hope that they would let the water back out.

From MarketWatch

“Putting that water back on the land is going to benefit everybody and everything.”

From Los Angeles Times

He said teams had also been "working around the clock" to restore water back to properties as quickly as possible.

From BBC

But he knew they were in trouble when he tried to hose down their plants and the wind blew the water back into his face.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023