waterproof

English

Etymology

From water +‎ -proof. Compare West Frisian wetterproef (“waterproof”), Dutch waterproef (“waterproof”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔːtəˌpruːf/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔt̬ɚˌpruf/, /ˈwɑ(ː)t̬ɚ-/

Adjective

waterproof (comparative more waterproof, superlative most waterproof)

1. Resistant to the effects of water.
2. Made of or covered with material that doesn't allow water in.
   • 2025 October 21, Rose George, “‘I knew in my head we were dying’: the last voyage of the Scandies Rose”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     The captain did a safety drill. This covered where the emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was located, how to make a mayday call, and where the fire extinguishers were. A crew member demonstrated how to put on an immersion suit. These survival suits are waterproof full-body garments with a hood and integral three-finger gloves and boots. They are bulky and hard to get on but far more likely to save your life in cold water than a lifejacket.

3. (figurative) Incapable of failing; unassailable.
   • 1931, The British Clay Worker:

     The only waterproof plan and the one increasingly adopted by leading trades is the consolidation of the interests of all parties in a scheme of amalgamation.

   • 2001, W. A. M. van Dijk, J. L. Hovens, Netherlands. Koninklijke Marechaussee, Arresting war criminals:

     Especially within an international framework, guarding this process is of the utmost importance. The eyes of the world are focussed on the action at hand and demand a waterproof plan and execution.

   • 2013, Barry Davies, Soldier of Fortune Guide to How to Disappear and Never Be Found, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., →ISBN:

     Unless you have a 100 percent waterproof plan to defraud insurance companies, I would suggest you don't do it.

Synonyms

• (made of a material that doesn't allow water in): waterfast, watertight

Derived terms

• waterproof pants

Descendants

• → Dutch: waterproof
• → Dutch: waterproof (partial calque)
• → Dutch: waterproef (calque)
• → French: waterproof
• → Italian: waterproof
• → Romanian: waterproof
• → Russian: ватерпру́ф (vaterprúf)

Translations

resistant to water

• Arabic: مُقَاوِم لِلْمَاء m (muqāwim lilmāʔ)
• Bulgarian: непромока́ем (bg) (nepromokáem), водонепроница́ем (bg) (vodonepronicáem)
• Catalan: submergible
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 防水的 (zh) (fángshuǐde)

• Crimean Tatar: suv keçmez
• Danish: vandfast
• Finnish: vedenkestävä
• French: résistant à l'eau
• Galician: impermeable (gl), impermeábel (gl)
• Georgian: წყალგაუმტარი (c̣q̇algaumṭari), წყალგამძლე (c̣q̇algamʒle)
• German: wasserfest (de)
• Greek: αδιάβροχος (el) (adiávrochos)
• Hindi: जलरोधी (jalrodhī)
• Hungarian: vízálló (hu)
• Indonesian: anti-air
• Irish: uiscedhíonach
• Italian: impermeabile (it), a tenuta stagna
• Japanese: 防水の (ja) (ぼうすいの, bōsui-no)
• Kazakh: суөткізбейтін (suötkızbeitın)
• Malay: kalis air (ms), kedap air, waterpruf
• Māori: maru, pītongatonga
• Norwegian: vanntett (no) (formally)
• Persian: واترپروف (fa) (vâterpruf)
• Polish: wodoodporny (pl)
• Portuguese: à prova de água, impermeável (pt)
• Russian: водонепроница́емый (ru) (vodonepronicájemyj), водосто́йкий (ru) (vodostójkij), водоупо́рный (ru) (vodoupórnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: uisge-dhìonach
• Spanish: impermeable (es)
• Swedish: vattentät (sv), vattenfast, vattentålig

made or covered with material that doesn't let water in

• Arabic: مُقَاوِم لِلْمَاء m (muqāwim lilmāʔ)
• Bulgarian: непромока́ем (bg) (nepromokáem), водонепроница́ем (bg) (vodonepronicáem)
• Catalan: impermeable (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 防水 (zh) (fángshuǐ)

• Crimean Tatar: suv keçmez
• Czech: vodotěsný (cs)
• Danish: vandtæt (da), imprægneret
• Finnish: vedenpitävä, vesitiivis (fi)
• French: waterproof (fr), étanche (fr), imperméable (fr)
• Georgian: წყალგაუმტარი (c̣q̇algaumṭari), ულტობი (ulṭobi), წყალმედეგი (c̣q̇almedegi), წყალშეუღწევი (c̣q̇alšeuɣc̣evi), წყალგამძლე (c̣q̇algamʒle)
• German: wasserdicht (de), wasserfest (de), wasserundurchlässig (de)
• Greek: αδιάβροχος (el) (adiávrochos)
• Hindi: जलरोधी (jalrodhī)
• Hungarian: vízhatlan (hu)
• Icelandic: vatnsheldur (is)
• Irish: uiscedhíonach
• Italian: impermeabilizzato (it)
• Japanese: 防水の (ja) (ぼうすいの, bōsui-no)
• Māori: parewai, whakapiri
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: vanntett (no), vasstett

  Nynorsk: vasstett

• Polish: wodoszczelny (pl), nieprzemakalny (pl)
• Portuguese: impermeável (pt)
• Russian: водонепроница́емый (ru) (vodonepronicájemyj), непромока́емый (ru) (nepromokájemyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: uisge-dhìonach
• Spanish: impermeable (es)
• Swedish: vattentät (sv)
• Turkish: su geçirmez (tr)
• Vietnamese: chống thấm nước, chống nước, chống thấm

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} impermeabile (it)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 방수의 (bangsuui)

Verb

waterproof (third-person singular simple present waterproofs, present participle waterproofing, simple past and past participle waterproofed)

1. To make waterproof or water-resistant.
   • 2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:

     The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices).

Translations

to make waterproof or water-resistant

• Bulgarian: импрегнирам (bg) (impregniram)
• Catalan: impermeabilitzar (ca)
• Danish: imprægnere
• Finnish: tiivistää (fi), vesitiivistää, kosteussuojata
• French: étanchéifier (fr)
• Italian: impermeabilizzare
• Japanese: 防水加工する (bousui-kakō suru)
• Norwegian: impregnere
• Polish: robić nieprzemakalnym impf, zrobić nieprzemakalnym pf
• Spanish: impermeabilizar (es)

Noun

waterproof (countable and uncountable, plural waterproofs)

1. A substance or preparation for rendering cloth, leather, etc., impervious to water.
2. Cloth made waterproof, or any article made of such cloth, or of other waterproof material, as rubber; especially, an outer garment made of such material.
   • 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:

     Carrados dropped the near window as a man in glistening waterproof stepped from the shelter of a lich-gate and approached.

Translations

A waterproof coat, waterproof clothing

• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
• Māori: makitohi
• Polish: nieprzemakalne ubranie n
• Portuguese: capa de chuva f
• Russian: непромоканец m (nepromokanec)

Dutch

Alternative forms

• waterproef

Etymology

Borrowed from English waterproof and partial calque of English waterproof (depending on the pronunciation). By surface analysis, water +‎ -proof.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋaː.tərˌpruf/, /ˈʋɔ.tərˌpruf/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: wa‧ter‧proof

Adjective

waterproof (not comparable)

1. waterproof

   Synonyms: waterdicht, watervrij, waterbestendig

Declension

Declension of waterproof
uninflected	waterproof
inflected	waterproof
comparative	—
		positive
predicative/adverbial		waterproof
indefinite	m./f. sing.	waterproof
	n. sing.	waterproof
	plural	waterproof
definite		waterproof
partitive		waterproofs

Noun

waterproof m (plural waterproofs, no diminutive)

1. waterproof object

Noun

waterproof n (uncountable, no diminutive)

1. waterproof material

French

Adjective

waterproof (feminine waterproofe, masculine plural waterproofs, feminine plural waterproofes)

1. (anglicism) waterproof

Further reading

• “waterproof”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English waterproof.

Adjective

waterproof (invariable)

1. waterproof (all senses)

   Synonym: impermeabile

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English waterproof.

Noun

waterproof n (plural waterproofuri)

1. a waterproof cloak

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	waterproof	waterprooful	waterproofuri	waterproofurile
genitive-dative	waterproof	waterproofului	waterproofuri	waterproofurilor
vocative	waterproofule		waterproofurilor