Word.ws English Dictionary

tested the waters

tested the waters is the simple past and past participle of test the waters.

Meaning of test the waters

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)

  1. (idiomatic) 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.

Questions about tested the waters

What is tested the waters the simple past and past participle of?
Tested the waters is the simple past and past participle of test the waters.

Words near tested the waters in the dictionary

  1. testectomy
  2. tested
  3. tested out
  4. tested someone's patience
  5. tested the water
  6. tested the waters
  7. testedness
  8. testedst
  9. testee
  10. testees
  11. tester

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tested the waters (page history and authors); 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.

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