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waterworks

wa·ter·works/ˈwɔtɚˌwɚks/noun

waterworks is spelled W-A-T-E-R-W-O-R-K-S: 10 letters and 3 syllables (wa·ter·works). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,416th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, waterworks means “The water supply system of a district, town, city, or other place, including reservoirs, pipes, and pumps” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in waterworks?

Letters10: W-A-T-E-R-W-O-R-K-S
Syllables3: wa·ter·works
In writingabout once in every 2 million words; the 38,416th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is waterworks?

Waterworks appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,416th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce waterworks?

  • UK /ˈwɔːtəˌwəːks/
  • US /ˈwɔtɚˌwɚks/
  • US [-ɾɚ-]

Waterworks has 3 syllables, split wa·ter·works in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-waterworks.wav, En-us-waterworks.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of waterworks

  • waterwork
  • water works
  • water-works

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does waterworks mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The water supply system of a district, town, city, or other place, including reservoirs, pipes, and pumps.

  2. 2

    Any single facility, such as a filtration plant or pumping station, within such a system.

    She is employed by a waterworks at the outskirts of the city.

  3. 3

    informalOften in the form turn on the waterworks: crying or tears, especially in a way that is considered manipulative or over-emotional.

    She turned on the waterworks when we told her the old man was dead, but she was asking questions about the will soon enough.

  4. 4

    informalRain.

  5. 5

    UKThe genitourinary system.

  6. 6

    A hydraulic apparatus by which a supply of water is furnished for ornamental purposes; also, an ornamental fountain or waterfall.

  7. 7

    archaicEngineering works relating to the conveyance and flow of fluids (principally water), such as the collection and distribution of water, drainage, irrigation, etc.

  8. 8

    plural of waterwork (a form of waterwork)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Waterworks in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchstation de traitement d'eau (water supply system of a district, town, city…), systéme hydraulique (any single facility, such as a filtration plant…)
GermanWasserwerk, Wasserkunst, Wasserversorgung (water supply system of a district, town, city…), Wasseraufbereitungsanlage (any single facility, such as a filtration plant…), Geheul (crying or tears, especially in a way that is…)
Spanishllanto (crying or tears, especially in a way that is…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does waterworks come from?

From water + works (“machine, mechanism; factory or factories”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after waterworks