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

Recent Examples on the Web

Projects like Beautiful Thugger Girls saw Thug test the waters of R&B, while blending a mix of country and hip-hop. — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 6 Oct. 2026

One of the easiest ways to test the waters with white after Labor Day? — Kate Boswell, Southern Living, 26 Sep. 2026

After years of testing the waters, Christie’s has decided that pop culture is ready for the big leagues. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Researchers at a lab at the University of Illinois Chicago have been testing the water for the event for safety, including filtering concentrated bacteria, isolating the DNA, then amplifying it to measure how much is in the water. — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for test the waters

• backwaters
• breakwaters
• floodwaters
• granddaughters
• groundwaters
• headwaters
• shearwaters
• wastewaters
• blotters
• daughters
• otters
• plotters