Waterbreak
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A pothole or similar break in a road's surface caused by rainwater washing away the surface of the road. countable, obsolete
"Many of the entrants drove unusually reckless down the mountains and the unexpected waterbreaks jarred their cars more than 100 miles of rational touring."
- 2 A breakwater. countable
"Since the islet has a 720 meter long waterbreak connecting the land and the islet it attracts many visitors during summertime."
- 3 A barrier built across a steeply sloping road or trail in order to direct the flow of water and prevent erosion. countable
"A waterbreak should be extended far enough into the bank on the upper side of the trail to prevent water from cutting around it."
- 4 Any artificially constructed system or device to halt the destructive flow of water. broadly, countable
"Later, about 75 years ago, Ralph's grandfather built "waterbreaks" on his farm, which are the nearest things to broad-base terraces you can imagine."
- 5 The time elapsed from an underwater explosion or seismic event until the arrival of the resulting energy wave at a hydrophonic detector. countable
"Included in the display will be an active underwater buoy, a depth sensor waterbreak hydrophones unit, and a waterbreak converter."
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- 6 The formation of beads of water on a smooth surface, especially when used as an indicator of impurities on the surface. uncountable
"A slurry of 10 grams of powder in 100 milliliters distilled water was carried on a cotton swab and the panels scrubbed until free from waterbreak when rinsed."
- 7 A break in the smooth surface of a body of water, such as a ripple, whitecap, or the roughness that results from water flowing over an uneven surface. countable
"And here and there a foamy flake Upon me, as I travel With many a silvery waterbreak Above the golden gravel,..."
Example
More examples"Many of the entrants drove unusually reckless down the mountains and the unexpected waterbreaks jarred their cars more than 100 miles of rational touring."
Etymology
From water + break.
More for "waterbreak"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.