Word · Frequency #13395
wastewater
废水；污水
water mixed with waste matter
- 1.
Any water that has been used in some human domestic or industrial activity and, as a result, now contains waste products.
经人类生活或工业活动使用后含有废物的水。
经人类生活或工业活动使用后含有废物的水。；废水
In use
The factory treats its wastewater before releasing it into the river.
Wastewater from households can be recycled for irrigation.
The city is building a new plant to clean wastewater.
wastewater from [source]
用 from 说明废水来源，常见于环保话题。
Wastewater from the factory is treated before it enters the river.
来自工厂的废水在排入河流之前经过处理。
wastewater + noun
wastewater 可直接修饰名词，如 treatment plant（处理厂）。
The city is building a new wastewater treatment plant.
这座城市正在新建一座污水处理厂。
[adjective] + wastewater
可用 industrial、domestic 等形容词说明废水类型。
Industrial wastewater often contains heavy metals.
工业废水常含有重金属。
Common mistakes
We should not wastewater.We should not waste water.
wastewater 是名词，意思是“废水”，不能当动词用；表示“浪费水”要用动词 waste 加宾语 water。把 wastewater 误当成动词是混淆了词性。
The river has many wastewater.The river has a lot of wastewater.
wastewater 在这里是不可数名词，泛指废水，不能用 many 修饰，因为 many 只能接可数名词复数；表示“大量废水”应用 a lot of 或 much。中文的“很多”不区分可数与不可数，所以容易误用 many。
Connections
Collocations
- wastewater treatment
- 废水处理
- The city invested millions in wastewater treatment.该市投资数百万用于废水处理。
- wastewater treatment plant
- 污水处理厂
- The wastewater treatment plant serves the entire region.这家污水处理厂服务于整个地区。
- industrial wastewater
- 工业废水
- Factories must treat industrial wastewater before releasing it.工厂必须在排放前处理工业废水。
- untreated wastewater
- 未经处理的废水
- Untreated wastewater can contaminate drinking water.未经处理的废水会污染饮用水。
- wastewater discharge
- 废水排放
- Stricter rules now govern wastewater discharge.现在有更严格的规定来管理废水排放。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记忆：waste（废弃）+ water（水）拼成 wastewater，想象洗过东西后倒掉的脏水，即废水。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：environmental engineering、municipal wastewater treatment、environmental reporting wastewater 多用于工程、环保等正式或技术性语境；日常口语中不常用，常以 sewage 或 dirty water 代替。该词本身语气中性，但在非正式交谈中显得生硬。
Pronunciation & Spelling
water、freshwater、saltwater、groundwater 都以 /wɔːtə/ 结尾，与 wastewater 的末尾读音一致（但 wastewater 的重音在 waste- 上）。waterfall 拼写中也有 water，但后面还有 /fɔːl/，所以不押韵。waste 只与开头的 /weɪst/ 发音相同，不是整词韵脚。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.