drinking fountain
9
1.0
- noun
- /ˈdrɪŋkɪŋ ˈfaʊntən/
- US
:
fuente de agua
- Spotting a drinking fountain at the end of the corridor, Paul walked briskly to it.
- a public drinking fountain
- a nearby drinking fountain
- get a drink from the drinking fountain
Examples
-
At the top of one of the spiral staircases, we found a drinking fountain.
-
In the park, children lined up to drink from the drinking fountain on a hot summer day.
-
I told my mother I would go look for a drinking fountain.
Fiction book (1998) -
Points her in the direction of the drinking fountain.
Fiction book (1990) -
That was a fabulous drinking fountain.
-
The guard stops at the drinking fountain.
Fiction book (1991) -
John points at three teenage guys standing at a drinking fountain nearby.
Fiction book (1991) -
I went and filled the water bottles at a drinking fountain.
Fiction book (1991) -
Once students are lined up, walk in a single file line to the nearest drinking fountain.
Academic text (2013) -
I watched him sadly as he walked back to the drinking fountain, where some other children were gathered.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
120
1.0
A structure that sends water into the air for decoration or drinking
17
1.0
A public tap that gives water you can drink
3
2.1
A machine that cools and gives drinking water
1
8.1
A public fountain that sends a stream of water for drinking
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'drinking fountain' is directly compositional: 'drinking' specifies the fountain's purpose and 'fountain' denotes a water installation, so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a fountain for drinking. This modifier + noun pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, making the meaning readily understandable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Drinking fountain comes from the simple image of a fountain used for drinking, a small jet of water people can sip from in public. So it now means 'a public place to get a drink of water'.