freshwater

freshwater — adjective

1. found in or linked to rivers, lakes, and streams where the water has no salt in

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

found in or linked to rivers, lakes, and streams where the water has no salt in it — unlike the salty ocean or sea.

Example

Rin studies the freshwater fish that live in the streams near her village.

collocation: freshwater fish

The park contains a large freshwater lake where families go swimming in summer.

collocation: freshwater lake

Common collocations
  • freshwater fish
  • freshwater lake
  • freshwater ecosystem
  • freshwater species
  • freshwater habitat
Synonyms
  • non-salty

    less common, more technical; used in scientific descriptions

  • inland

    broader meaning — can refer to any body of water away from the coast, including salty inland lakes

Antonyms
  • saltwater

    the direct opposite; describes oceans, seas, and salty bodies of water

  • marine

    relates specifically to the sea and its organisms

Usage Note

Attributive only — you can say 'a freshwater lake' but not ✱ 'the lake is freshwater'. When used predicatively, the two-word phrase 'fresh water' is preferred: 'the lake has fresh water in it.'

Common Mistakes

This lake is freshwater.
This lake has fresh water.
'freshwater' as an adjective must come before a noun; use 'fresh water' (two words) as a noun phrase after the verb.

freshwater — noun

Word family

  • fresh water
    noun phraseA2
  • freshwater fish
    noun compoundB1
  • freshwater lake
    noun compoundB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Freshwater' is the everyday term for anything connected to non-salty water — fish, lakes, ecosystems. 'Non-salty' is more technical and less common: you might see it in a chemistry report ('non-salty solutions') but not in a nature documentary. 'Inland' is broader — it includes salty inland lakes (e.g. the Great Salt Lake in Utah), so it is not a perfect substitute. 'Aquatic' covers ALL water environments (fresh and salt), so it is the least precise. In summary: use 'freshwater' for rivers, lakes, and streams; 'inland' when you mean 'away from the coast'; and 'aquatic' when salt content does not matter. For example: 'The Amazon is a freshwater ecosystem' (correct — not salty); 'The Amazon is an aquatic ecosystem' (correct, but less specific).

freshwater ↗non-saltyinland ↗aquatic ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • freshwater fish
  • freshwater lake
  • freshwater ecosystem
  • freshwater species
  • freshwater habitat
  • freshwater supply
  • freshwater resources

Phrases

  • source of freshwater
  • body of freshwater
  • freshwater shortage

Prepositions

  • freshwater in
  • freshwater of
  • freshwater from

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Formed in English around the 1500s by combining 'fresh' (from Old English 'fresc', meaning not salty — already used for water in Old English times) with 'water' (from Old English 'wæter'). The compound 'freshwater' was originally written as two words and later fused into one, especially as an adjective. The noun form 'fresh water' (two words) remains common today.