water pill
- noun
- /ˈwɔːtər pɪl/
- Specialized
- After taking a water pill, I noticed I needed to go to the bathroom more often.
- water pills or diuretics
- take a water pill
Examples
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She takes Advil, aspirin, Tylenol, water pills, blood pressure pills, and I'm not even sure what else she takes, but I'm certain there's more.
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Those water pills really worked.
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I'm gonna have to ask you for $40 and I'll throw in water pills.
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Diuretic pills, commonly known as water pills, perform well to lower the fluid volume in your body.
Blog text (5) -
A water pill may be out of the question for a taxi driver on the road all day; a low-salt diet may be impossible for someone living in a homeless shelter.
Blog text (7) -
The doctor prescribed a water pill to help manage my swelling.
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Many athletes use water pills to quickly lose weight before competitions.
Synonyms
A substance that makes your body pass more water as urine
A medicine that makes the body pass more urine to remove extra water
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun–noun composition (water + pill) transparently signals a pill related to water in the body, so a B1 learner who knows both words will infer it concerns bodily water. However, the specific pharmacological sense — a diuretic that increases urine to remove excess water — is not fully predictable and could be misinterpreted (e.g., a pill containing water or treating dehydration), so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Water pill gives a simple picture: a pill that helps your body get rid of extra water by making you 'pee' more. That's why it means 'a medicine that makes you remove extra water from your body'.