test the waters

phrase

variants or less commonly test the water
: to make a preliminary test or survey (as of reaction or interest) before embarking on a course of action

Examples of test the waters in a Sentence

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Before committing to a women’s golf collection, Cole Haan had been testing the waters. — Mike Dojc, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026 The company's chief rival, Anthropic, has also confidentially filed its prospectus with regulators, and it's been holding early meetings to test the waters with potential investors, as CNBC previously reported. — Ashley Capoot,kate Rooney, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026 In 2025, the Surfrider Foundation tested the water quality in 14 different cities and counties across California. — Alexiah Syrai Olsen, Sacbee.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Indecisive decorators can test the waters by ordering a larger wallpaper sample and living with it for a week. — Kelsey Mulvey, Vogue, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for test the waters

Rhymes for test the waters

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test solution
test the waters
test-tube
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Cite this Entry

“Test the waters.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/test%20the%20waters. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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