freshwater
freshwater Lexical Profile
freshwater Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to, consisting of, or living in water that is not salty, such as that found in rivers, lakes, and streams rather than the sea.
"The biologist spent the summer cataloging native freshwater fish in the regional river basin."
• noun
Naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface or underground that contains minimal quantities of dissolved salts, as distinguished from seawater or brackish water.
"Nearly seventy percent of the planet's freshwater is locked away in glaciers and polar ice caps."
Word Nuance & Usage
Often spelled as the single word "freshwater" when used as an attributive adjective before a noun (e.g., "freshwater fish"), and as the open compound "fresh water" when used as a noun, though the closed noun form "freshwater" is also common in scientific contexts.