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Words with the root hydr

hydr means “water”, from Greekhydor.

15 examples of the root “hydr”

  1. hydrant-antwater outlet fixture
  2. hydrate-atecombine or supply with water
  3. hydrogen-genwater-forming element
  4. hydropowerpowerpower generated from water
  5. dehydratede- + -ateremove water from something
  6. hydraulic-aulicoperated by water pressure
  7. hydroplaneplanecraft skimming over water
  8. hydrology-logystudy of water systems
  9. hydroelectricelectricelectricity produced from water
  10. hydrophobia-phobiaabnormal fear of water
  11. hydrospheresphereall water on Earth
  12. hydrothermalthermalrelating to hot water
  13. anhydrousan- + -ouscontaining no water at all
  14. hydrodynamicsdynamicsstudy of water in motion
  15. hydroponics-ponicsgrowing plants in water

How hydr works

The root 'hydr' comes from Greek 'hydor' (water) and typically forms nouns, adjectives, and verbs related to water or fluids. It appears as 'hydr-' before vowels and 'hydro-' before consonants, and can also appear embedded in words like 'anhydrous' with the prefix 'an-' (without).

Watch out: The word 'hydra' (the mythological many-headed serpent) is actually related—it was a water serpent—but 'hydraulic' might misleadingly suggest 'aul' carries meaning when only 'hydr' does.

To see roots combine with other parts, try the word dissector and root builder, or test yourself in the vocabulary quiz.

Other Greek and Latin roots

Questions people ask

What does the root “hydr” mean?

hydr means “water”. It comes from Greek (hydor). The root 'hydr' comes from Greek 'hydor' (water) and typically forms nouns, adjectives, and verbs related to water or fluids. It appears as 'hydr-' before vowels and 'hydro-' before consonants, and can also appear embedded in words like 'anhydrous' with the prefix 'an-' (without).

What are some examples of words with the root “hydr”?

hydrant, hydrate, hydrogen, hydropower, dehydrate, hydraulic, hydroplane, hydrology. The full list of 15 examples, with what each one literally means, is above.

Which words look like they have the root “hydr” but don’t?

The word 'hydra' (the mythological many-headed serpent) is actually related—it was a water serpent—but 'hydraulic' might misleadingly suggest 'aul' carries meaning when only 'hydr' does.

What is a root word?

A root is the core of a word that carries its main meaning. Many English roots come from Latin or Greek and cannot stand alone, like port (“carry”) in transport and portable.