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Glite Dictionary
to take in water

to take in water

5.2
To allow water into a boat through a hole in its side
  • phrasal verb
  • Specialized
translation icon : filtrar agua
  • The old boat started to take in water after hitting the submerged rock.

Examples

  • We taking in water?

    Return from the River Kwai (1989)

  • As the storm worsened, the vessel had to be abandoned because it was taking in water.

  • We're taking in water.

    Shark Bait (2022)

  • We're taking in water!

    The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

  • "Shortly before his election to the Throne of Peter, Benedict XVI compared the Church to a "boat taking in water on every side."

    Blog text (26)

  • The pump took in water from near the keel and then ejected it at the stern of the boat—an arrangement that was functionally similar to the "putt-putt" boats that were popular with children before the birth of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

    Academic text (2009)

  • When the ship began to take in water, the crew quickly sent out a distress signal.

Synonyms

to take on water
vsto take in water
  • Specialized
11 5.5

To begin to fill with water, often causing a boat to sink

means leaking in but not necessarily starting to flood or sink
to bilge
vsto take in water
  • Specialized
1 9.9

To take in water because the ship's hull is damaged

describes leaking through the hull or internal area without blaming damage

Antonyms

to stay afloat
  • Informal
16 4.1

Keep operating when money is low

to seal the container
1 1.9

Close something tightly so nothing can get in or out

How Much

to sink
258 1.0
to swamp
68 4.0
to take in water
  • Specialized
5.2
to leak
212 1.0

Surface Forms

take in water infinitive
taking in water present participle
takes in water third person singular
took in water past
taken in water past participle

Morphology

take + in + water

The meaning ‘to admit or receive water’ follows directly from combining 'take' (to receive) with the particle 'in' (into) and 'water', so a learner who knows the constituents can infer a vessel admitting water. Similar literal uses (e.g. a sponge 'takes in water') and cross-linguistic equivalents make the construction immediately comprehensible rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

Take in water shows a boat that takes in water through a hole in its side and begins to fill up. So it means 'to let water into a boat'.