take on water
English
Alternative forms
- take in water
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb
take on water (third-person singular simple present takes on water, present participle taking on water, simple past took on water, past participle taken on water)
- (of a ship, boat, or other watercraft) To slowly fill with water, as due to a leak or being washed by high waves; to begin to sink.
- 2012 Jan. 31, Charlie Cooper and Simon Rice, "How six would-be record-breakers ended up in seriously deep water," Independent (UK) (retrieved 8 Jan 2016):
- The skipper, Matt Craughwell, said their boat had begun to take on water after being tossed, stern upwards, by huge waves.
- 2012 Jan. 31, Charlie Cooper and Simon Rice, "How six would-be record-breakers ended up in seriously deep water," Independent (UK) (retrieved 8 Jan 2016):
- (idiomatic, by extension) To be in an increasingly difficult or risky situation; to falter or begin to fail.
- 1994 Jan. 2, Peter Passell, "Clear Today; Tomorrow, Who Knows?; Catch '94," New York Times (retrieved 8 Jan 2016):
- While the heartland is chugging right along, the economies of Southern California and New England are still taking on water.
- 2012 June 22, Jennifer Rubin, "Why defend Obama’s abuse of executive privilege?," Washington Post (retrieved 8 Jan 2016):
- Democrats on Capitol Hill . . . are struggling not to go down with the Obama campaign (which is taking on water at an alarming rate).
- 2014 March 26, Mike Ozanian, "Baseball Team Values 2014 Led By New York Yankees At $2.5 Billion," Forbes (retrieved 8 Jan 2016):
- The team refinanced $250 million of debt and is no longer taking on water under the leadership of GM Sandy Alderson.
- 1994 Jan. 2, Peter Passell, "Clear Today; Tomorrow, Who Knows?; Catch '94," New York Times (retrieved 8 Jan 2016):