water clock

noun

Definition of water clocknext
as in alarm clock

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of water clock Before time zones, people used other methods of telling time like sun dials and water clocks. — Katie Wiseman, IndyStar, 9 Oct. 2025 The earliest Chinese water clocks were probably outflow devices and were known as louke. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2023 His intricate water clocks and automata were not only practical but also visually appealing. — Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for water clock
  1. alarm clock
  2. time clock
  3. grandfather clock
  4. atomic clock
  5. cuckoo clock
  6. hourglass
  7. sundial
Noun
  • The Echo Spot is an excellent smart alarm clock with decent sound for its size and no camera.
    — Sheena Vasani, The Verge, 24 June 2026
  • In addition, comfortable sneakers, portable steamers, and the Hatch alarm clock were big hits among our readers.
    — Meaghan Kenny, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 June 2026
Definition of alarm clock
Noun
  • Humphreys and his colleagues have demonstrated how a mock Starlink service can produce navigation and timing solutions with 10-meter-level accuracy if Starlink supplies the real-time clock and orbit corrections—albeit only after a minutes-long processing delay.
    — Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 11 May 2026
  • The show originated at a design museum in Saint-Étienne; Musée des Arts et Métiers has supplemented it with lemons from its permanent collection, such as the ten-hour decimal-time clock, used during the French Revolution.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Definition of time clock
Noun
  • History San Jose has received countless donations over the years, but few have caused so many people to go down research rabbit holes as a grandfather clock recently has.
    — Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2026
  • It’s passed on, like a grandfather clock, from generation to generation.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 7 Apr. 2026
Definition of grandfather clock
Noun
  • Today, Earth's GPS satellites continuously broadcast timing signals generated by onboard atomic clocks.
    — Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 19 May 2026
  • To get extremely precise atomic measurements, Raizen proposes an experiment using a laser to cool and trap individual isotopes—variants of atoms—in an extremely precise atomic clock.
    — K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 13 May 2026
Definition of atomic clock
Noun
  • The place is full of antiques such as old cuckoo clocks, paintings, and books.
    — Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 6 May 2026
  • Perhaps the notion appealed to nineteenth-century tastes for cuckoo clocks and ideas about mechanistic, orderly nature.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026
Definition of cuckoo clock
Noun
  • At work, Kirkham uses an antique sand hourglass which times an hour.
    — Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • Chloe Bailey Clad in an hourglass Valdrin Sahiti gown, Chloe Bailey continued her blond bob era, pairing the pithy style with stringent liner and lash clusters along her waterline.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 28 June 2026
Definition of hourglass
Noun
  • The first sundials and water clocks were determined to have been used in 1200 B.C. by the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 19 Aug. 2025
  • Days sometimes may feel like mere hours when times are good, and the moments may barely tick by in a dull day, but the passage of Earth around the sun hasn’t changed in an easily measurable way since humans first started using sundials.
    — Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2025
Definition of sundial

Browse Nearby Words

water beds
water clock
water clocks
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Cite this Entry

“Water clock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/water%20clock. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on water clock

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about water clock

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