water supply
Americannoun
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the supply of purified water available to a community.
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the facilities for storing and supplying this water, as reservoirs and pipelines.
noun
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an arrangement of reservoirs, purification plant, distribution pipes, etc, for providing water to a community
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the supply of treated and purified water for a community
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of water supply
First recorded in 1880–85
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 New York City Department of Environmental Protection manages the city's water supply and wastewater infrastructure, including thousands of miles of sewer lines and about 100,000 active manholes, according to its website.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
Several MPs had called for Hinton to go following a series of water supply failures for thousands of customers in Kent and Sussex in recent months.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Still, California is enduring its second-worst snow drought in 50 years, which experts say is a sign of how rising temperatures from climate change are worsening the West’s long-term water supply problems.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026
Retrofitting the warehouse for immigration detention would create construction sediment that would run into nearby waterways, Maryland’s lawsuit argued, and housing hundreds of people there would strain the water supply and create sewage overflows.
From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026
Seldom if ever does Nature operate in closed and separate compartments, and she has not done so in distributing the earth’s water supply.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
