Word.ws English Dictionary

tests the waters

tests the waters is the third-person singular simple present indicative 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 tests the waters

What is tests the waters the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Tests the waters is the third-person singular simple present indicative of test the waters.

Words near tests the waters in the dictionary

  1. tests
  2. tests of time
  3. tests out
  4. tests someone's patience
  5. tests the water
  6. tests the waters
  7. testudian
  8. testudians
  9. testudinal
  10. testudinarious
  11. testudinate

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tests 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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