Meanings
plural waterways
- A body of water, such as a river, channel or canal, that is navigable.
As hundreds of volunteers and police scoured parks and waterways in an area of New Orleans Tuesday, there were many questions but few answers about the disappearance 11 days ago of a 26-year-old teacher.
2013 March 12, Vivian Kuo, “No answers in disappearance of New Orleans teacher”, in CNN, archived from the original on 01 Jul 20181 more example
Oil and liquefied natural gas tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz carry around 20% of the world’s supply. But for countries on the Persian Gulf, the waterway is more than just an energy route – it’s a lifeline for more than 100 million people.
2026 March 20, Eleni Giokos, “The Strait of Hormuz is about more than just oil. It feeds 100 million people”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 23 Mar 2026 - A conduit or watercourse, such as on the deck of a ship, to drain water.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*watarweg
- Old Englishwæterweġ“waterway”
- Middle Englishwaterwey
- Englishwaterway
From Middle English waterwey, from Old English wæterweġ (“waterway”), from Proto-West Germanic *watarweg, equivalent to water + way. Compare Saterland Frisian Woaterwai (“waterway”), West Frisian wetterwei (“waterway”), Dutch waterweg (“waterway”), German Wasserweg (“waterway”), Danish vandvej (“waterway”), Swedish vattenväg (“waterway”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مَمَرّ مَائِيّ
- مَمَرّ مَائِيّ (mamarr māʔiyy)navigable body of water
Chinese Mandarin 水路, 航道
- 水路 (shuǐlù)navigable body of water
- 航道 (hángdào)navigable body of water
Czech vodní cesta
- vodní cestanavigable body of water
Danish vandvej
- vandvejnavigable body of water
Dutch vaarweg, waterweg
- vaarwegnavigable body of water
- waterwegnavigable body of water
- vaarwaternavigable body of water
Esperanto akvovojo
- akvovojonavigable body of water
Finnish vesitie, vesiväylä
- vesitienavigable body of water
- vesiväylänavigable body of water
- laivaväylänavigable body of water
French voie navigable
- voie navigablenavigable body of water
German Wasserstraße, Wasserweg
- Wasserstraßenavigable body of water
- Wasserwegnavigable body of water
- Fahrwassernavigable body of water
Hebrew נְתִיב מַיִם
- נְתִיב מַיִם (netiv mayim)navigable body of water
Indonesian jalan air
- jalan airnavigable body of water
Japanese 水路
- 水路 (suiro)navigable body of water
Korean 수로
- 수로 (suro)navigable body of water
Lithuanian vandentakis, vandens kelias
- vandentakisnavigable body of water
- vandens keliasnavigable body of water
Māori hawai, arawai
- hawainavigable body of water
- arawainavigable body of water
Norwegian Bokmål vannvei, vassdrag
- vannveinavigable body of water
- vassdragnavigable body of water
Persian آبراه
- آبراه (âbrâh)navigable body of water
Polish droga wodna
- droga wodnanavigable body of water
Portuguese hidrovia
- hidrovianavigable body of water
Romanian cale navigabilă
- cale navigabilănavigable body of water
Russian фарва́тер, во́дный путь
- фарва́тер (farvátɛr)navigable body of water
- во́дный путь (vódnyj putʹ)navigable body of water
Spanish hidrovía, torrentera
- hidrovíanavigable body of water
- torrenteranavigable body of water
Tagalog alulusan
- alulusannavigable body of water
Vietnamese đường thủy, đường sông
- đường thủynavigable body of water
- đường sôngnavigable body of water
- thủy lộnavigable body of water
Welsh dyfrffordd, camlas
- dyfrfforddnavigable body of water
- camlasnavigable body of water
Cite this entry
waterway. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waterway
“waterway.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waterway. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “waterway,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waterway.
Source: waterway on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.