water fountain
17
1.0
- noun
- /ˈwɔːtər ˈfaʊntən/
:
fuente
- After our long hike, we were grateful to find a water fountain to drink from.
- an interactive water fountain
My mother drank from blacks only water fountains in high school.
- My mother drank from blacks only water fountains in high school.
- People like me don't get to drink from certain water fountains, but hey, that is the custom.
- And she said I can't explain it but you shouldn't drink out of those water fountains.
- And Brandon and I walk out of the bathroom and this lady is like, did did you know that these water fountains taste different?
- Learning to read our first words, colored and white, on the signs of bathroom doors and water fountains in Birmingham.
Examples
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Elle waits in line for the water fountain, talking on her cell phone.
Fiction book (2001) -
Everything's closed, but there is a water fountain by the bathroom.
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Oh, sorry, I was just looking for the water fountain.
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On the wall by the phone and the water fountain.
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Look at the water fountain.
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Go to the water fountain.
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The water fountain's right over there.
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The government plaza with its cathedral and water fountains is beautiful.
Academic text (1996) -
I ran into Mara at the water fountain between fifth and sixth periods.
Fiction book (2002) -
Chastity rounds the corner and bends down to get a drink from the water fountain.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
120
1.0
A structure that sends water into the air for decoration or drinking
9
1.0
A public tap that gives water for people to drink
1
8.1
A public fountain that sends a stream of water for drinking
How Big
120
1.0
17
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a device that provides drinking water' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'water' (drinkable liquid) with 'fountain' (a constructed water installation); the noun-noun composition clearly signals a fountain whose purpose is water for drinking. This is a cross-linguistically common, literal construction, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Water fountain comes from old public fountains where water flowed from a fountain spout into a basin so people could drink directly. That's why it now means 'a public device that provides a stream of drinking water'.