waterworks
waterworks Lexical Profile
waterworks Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A facility and system of reservoirs, pumps, treatment plants, and pipes used to supply water to a municipality or community.
"The city council approved a major bond measure to modernize the aging municipal waterworks."
The shedding of tears, especially when sudden, profuse, or deliberately theatrical (informal).
"Whenever the toddler wanted a piece of candy at the checkout counter, he would immediately turn on the waterworks."
An ornamental fountain or complex display of spouting water, as in a public garden or park.
"The palace gardens were famous across Europe for their elaborate seventeenth-century waterworks."
The urinary system or urinary tract of the body (informal).
"The patient visited the clinic complaining of a minor infection in his waterworks."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to a municipal water-supply facility, 'waterworks' is plural in form but can be treated as either singular or plural in construction; in its informal sense of crying or tears, it is always treated as plural.