The most important objects or concepts in a culture have multiple words to denote them. In India, for example, there are 200 words that mean “cow”.

In America, to mean “body of water”, there are at least 100 words and phrases.

Look over our list to make sure we’ve got them all.

Did we miss one? Leave a comment so we can add it. Thanks!

A: alluvial fan, arm of the sea, aquifer, arroyo

B: basin, bay, bayou, bend, bight, billibong, bog, brook

C: canal, cataract, channel, confluence, coral reef, cove, crater lake, creek

D: dam, delta

E: estuary

F: falls, fen, firth, fjord, fork

G: geyser, glacier, glacier cave, gulch, gulf, gully

H: harbor, headland, headwaters

I: iceberg, ice cliff, ice field, inlet, island, islet

K: kettle, kill

L: lagoon, lake, loch

M: mangrove swamp, marsh, meander, mid-ocean ridge, millpond, moat, mouth, mud flat

N: narrows, neck

O: oasis, ocean, oceanic trench, oxbow lake

P: playa, pond, pool, port, prairie, puddle

R: rapids, reef, reservoir, ria, river, riverbed, river delta, rivulet, run

S: salt marsh, scarp, scree, sea, sea cave, seashore, shallows, shoal, shore, shoreline, slough, sound, source, spring, strait, stream, subglacial lake, surf, swamp

T: tidal basin, tide pool, tributary

W: wash, waterfall, watershed, waterway, wetland, whirlpool