Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

watercress

/ˈwɔtəɹkɹɛs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.49 in modern English

Syllables
wa-ter-cress
IPA
/ˈwɔtəɹkɹɛs/
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A perennial European herb, Nasturtium officinale, that grows in freshwater streams; used in salads and as a garnish.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A similar plant, Nasturtium microphyllum.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English water cresse, water-kresse, watercrasse, water cars, equivalent to water + cress. Cognate with West Frisian wetterkers (“watercress”), Dutch waterkers (“watercress”), German Wasserkresse (“waterkress”), Swedish vattenkrasse (“watercress”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈwɔtəɹkɹɛs/
  • British English: /ˈwɔːtəkɹɛs/

Usage

Inflected Forms

watercresses (plural) water-cress (alternative) water cress (alternative)

Derived Forms

watercressed watercressing watercressy

Phrases

fool's watercress

Synonyms

cress green cresson

Questions

How do you pronounce watercress?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwɔtəɹkɹɛs/.
What does watercress mean?
A perennial European herb, Nasturtium officinale, that grows in freshwater streams; used in salads and as a garnish.
Where does watercress come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce watercress

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “watercress”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈwɔtəɹkɹɛs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “watercress”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “watercress” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.