# aqua

/ˈækwə/ (US) · /ˈækwɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/aqua
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. a colour

noun · CEFR B2

a bright colour that is a mix of blue and green, like the water in a tropical sea.

For teachers: a light, vibrant shade of greenish-blue, similar to turquoise or cyan.

- The bathroom was decorated in aqua and white to give it a fresh feel.
- The designer selected an aqua silk for the evening gown, noting how the shimmering fabric mimicked the clarity of tropical coastal waters.

### 2. blue-green

adjective · CEFR B2

having a bright blue-green colour.

For teachers: denoting a specific hue between blue and green on the visible spectrum.

- She wore an aqua dress to the summer wedding.
- The artist applied thin layers of aqua paint to the canvas to represent the shallowest parts of the coral reef.

### 3. water

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical · Formal

the word for water in Latin, often used in science or to name products.

For teachers: the aqueous state of matter; primarily used in pharmaceutical, chemical, or commercial nomenclature to denote water.

- The first ingredient listed on the shampoo bottle was aqua.
- In pharmaceutical compounding, aqua must be purified to specific standards before it can be used as a solvent for intravenous medications.

Usage: Often appears in ingredient lists on cosmetics or in chemical compound names.

## Examples

- She wore a bright aqua dress to the party.
- The designer chose aqua tiles for the bathroom to create a fresh, watery feel.
- The artist mixed cyan and white to achieve a soft aqua tone that evoked the calm surface of a tropical lagoon.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.