waterborne

American

[waw-ter-bawrn, -bohrn, wot-er-] / ˈwɔ tərˌbɔrn, -ˌboʊrn, ˈwɒt ər- /

adjective

floating or moving on water; supported by water.

The ship was waterborne ten months after the keel was laid.
transported by ship or boat.

waterborne commerce.
communicated by water, especially drinking water.

waterborne diseases.

waterborne British

/ ˈwɔːtəˌbɔːn /

adjective

floating or travelling on water
(of a disease, etc) transported or transmitted by water

"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 waterborne

First recorded in 1550–60; water + borne ¹

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 Revolutionary Guard uses nimble boats, waterborne drones, and mines to control the strait, making its asymmetrical strategy effective against commercial shipping.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

The annual monsoon season, typically between June and September, often brings landslides, flash floods and waterborne diseases.

From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025

Conceptualized as self-sufficient, self-governing, sea-bound communities, the vision for these waterborne cities was part libertarian utopia, part billionaire’s playground.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025

In its liquid form it is used to treat water supplies and swimming pools to prevent the transmission of waterborne diseases.

From BBC • Aug. 29, 2024

There were loads of waterborne diseases in Congo, and a thousand different paths that all led to the same destination: diarrhea.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

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