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fountain

B1
noun

Pronunciation

UK

  • /fˈaʊntɪn/

US

  • /ˈfaʊntən/

Description

A fountain is often a place where water rises or sprays in a pool, garden, park, or public square. It may be made to look beautiful, but the word is not only about decoration. It can also mean a source that seems to give a lot of something. A fountain of knowledge is a person who seems full of facts and ideas, and the Fountain of Youth is the famous mythical spring that was said to make people young again.

The idea behind the word is flow. Water flows from it, and in stories or everyday speech, other things can seem to flow from it too, such as ideas, energy, or good fortune. That is why the word often suggests beauty, movement, and plenty all at once.

Examples

  1. 1

    Park

    We sat by the fountain in the park and ate our lunch.

  2. 2

    Sightseeing

    Tourists were taking photos in front of the fountain in the square.

  3. 3

    Drinking water

    There's a drinking fountain just outside the gym.

    • Phrase

      drinking fountain

      a place where you can drink water in a public building

  4. 4

    Hotel decor

    The hotel lobby has a marble fountain in the middle.

  5. 5

    Storytelling

    My grandfather is a fountain of stories about the old neighborhood.

    • Pattern

      a fountain of + something

      a large, steady source of it

  6. 6

    Youth idiom

    She spends a fortune on skin care, still hoping to find the fountain of youth.

    • Phrase

      the fountain of youth

      something that keeps you looking or feeling young

Forms and spellings

2 forms open this card.

Main spelling

  • fountainnoun

Forms

  • fountainspluralnoun