Looking for the meaning of the word WATERWORK in English for both noun and verb forms from the Oxford Dictionary? Below, you can explore all possible meanings and definitions of WATERWORK with sentence examples. You can also use the “AUDIO PRONUNCIATION” track to check the correct pronunciation in British English.
Word: Waterwork
Speech Type: Noun
late Middle English. From water + work
A mechanism for raising, conveying, or distributing water.
In plural. The system of reservoirs, pipes, and machinery by which water is obtained, stored, purified, and supplied to an area or a town; a water pumping or purifying station.
In plural. figurative euphemistic. The urinary system.
A kind of mural painted in imitation of a tapestry in size or distemper.
Chiefly in plural. Work concerned with hydraulic engineering, irrigation, drainage, etc.
A device or structure which produces an ornamental or spectacular display of water; an ornamental fountain or cascade. Also: a display of this type. Usually in plural. Compare "firework" 3c. Now chiefly historical.
In plural. figurative. Tears, weeping, especially when regarded as being forced, cynically manipulative, or overdramatic. In later use often in "to turn on the waterworks".
In other figurative uses: †lava flow (obsolete, rare); rain.
In various contexts: a thing done or occurring in, on, or by means of water. Also as a mass noun: activity performed with or in water.
