plain water

noun

Tap water, either hot or cold, served in restaurants.

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Meanings

nounplain water (uncountable)
  1. SingaporeuncountableTap water, either hot or cold, served in restaurants.

    Politely I asked for a glass of plain water.

    1971 June 17, The Straits Times, page 19
    3 more examples

    A visitor from Down Under is wondering why most Singapore restaurants and hotels make it a practice to serve all guests with plain water, even when it has not been asked for.

    1974 February 21, New Nation: Using Less Water, page 6

    Someone asked for a glass of plain water and was told by the waitress: “That’ll be 60 cents.”

    1979 October 2, New Nation: Water: Expensive, page 8

    Although there is a food and drink stall inside, there are joggers like me who prefer to drink plain water after sweating it out of the tracks.

    1987 June 13, The Straits Times: Install Water Cooler, page 20
  2. MalaysiauncountableDrinking water
Cite this entry
APA

plain water. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plain%20water

MLA

“plain water.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plain%20water. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “plain water,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plain%20water.

Source: plain water on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.