test the waters
test the waters verb: to explore or probe, as before making a commitment.
Verb
test the waters (third-person singular simple present tests the waters, present participle testing the waters, simple past and past participle tested the waters)
- To explore or probe, as before making a commitment.
- Taking classes in a subject is a good way to test the waters and explore a potential career.
test the waters meaning in Arabic
test the waters in Arabic
- explore or probe
- جَسَّ النَّبْضَ jassa n-nabḍa
Synonyms of test the waters
Forms of test the waters
| third-person singular present | tests the waters |
|---|---|
| present participle | testing the waters |
| past participle | tested the waters |
| past | tested the waters |
| alternative form | test the water |
Questions about test the waters
- What does test the waters mean?
- Test the waters means to explore or probe, as before making a commitment.
- What is test the waters in Arabic?
- Test the waters in Arabic is جَسَّ النَّبْضَ (jassa n-nabḍa). See Test the waters meaning in Arabic.
- What part of speech is test the waters?
- Test the waters is a verb.
- What is the past tense of test the waters?
- The past tense of test the waters is tested the waters.
Words near test the waters in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: test the waters (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-test the waters.ogg.
Cite this entry: “test the waters.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/test_the_waters. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.