Water Safety Glossary

1

1-10-1 principle: A rough memory aid for cold water: about 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour. Experts warn it can understate the danger.

9

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 in the U.S. for free, confidential support any time, for a crisis or just to talk to someone.

A

Above-ground pool: A pool that sits on top of the ground. It still needs a four-sided fence; removing the ladder may not be enough.
Adaptive aquatics: Swim lessons and water activities adapted for people with disabilities or special health needs.
AED: Automated external defibrillator: a portable device that can shock the heart back into rhythm. It talks you through each step.
Afterdrop: The continued fall in core body temperature after someone is pulled from cold water. Keep warming them slowly.
Anniversary reaction: A return of strong grief around the anniversary of a death, a birthday or a holiday. It is normal and can be planned for.
Anti-entrapment drain cover: A drain cover built to a federal standard so a body, hair or limb can't be trapped by suction. Required in public pools.
Anticipatory grief: Grief that begins before a death, when a loved one is seriously ill or dying.
Aquatic distress: The stage before drowning, when a swimmer in trouble may still yell, wave or grab a thrown float. They need help right away.
Autism: A developmental condition. People with autism face a much higher drowning risk, often linked to wandering toward water.

B

Back float: Floating face up on your back to rest and breathe. Floating for 1 minute is part of water competency.
Barrier: Anything that keeps a child from reaching water unsupervised, such as a pool fence, locked door, gate or toilet lock.
Beach hazards statement: A National Weather Service alert for beach dangers below warning level, such as dangerous currents, unusually cold water or rough surf.
Beach warning flags: Colored flags that show water conditions where they are used. Meanings vary, and no flag doesn't mean safe.
Bereavement: The period of grief and mourning after the death of someone close. Being bereaved means someone you love has died.
Birth order: A person's position among siblings (oldest, middle, youngest). Large studies find it has little effect on personality.
Blended family: A family that includes stepparents, stepsiblings or half-siblings. Building sibling bonds takes time and patience.
Boating under the influence: Operating a boat after drinking alcohol or using drugs. Alcohol is the leading known factor in U.S. boating deaths.
Breath-holding games: Contests to stay underwater longest. CDC warns long breath-holding can make you pass out and drown.
Buddy system: Never swimming alone: pairing swimmers so each one keeps track of the other and can get help.

C

Capsize: When a boat tips over. If you capsize, stay with the boat, keep your life jacket on and try to climb back on.
Clear ice: New, hard ice without trapped snow. Minnesota DNR guidelines start at 4 inches of clear ice for walking; no ice is 100% safe.
Coast Guard approved: A life jacket or throwable device approved by the U.S. Coast Guard, shown on its label with weight range and intended use.
Cold incapacitation: Loss of muscle control in the arms and legs from cold water, which makes swimming or holding on impossible.
Cold water shock: The gasp and uncontrolled breathing in the first minutes in cold water. It can cause drowning even in strong swimmers.
Complicated grief: Grief that lasts longer than usual, causes extreme distress and makes daily life hard. Professional help can make a difference.
Continuing bonds: Staying connected to a loved one who died through memories, rituals and the ways they still shape your life.
CPR: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: chest compressions and rescue breaths given to someone whose heart or breathing has stopped.
Current: Moving water. River and ocean currents can look calm on top while moving fast underneath, and they tire swimmers quickly.
Cyanobacteria: Also called blue-green algae. The most common cause of harmful algal blooms in fresh water, per CDC.

D

Desi: An informal word many people of South Asian heritage use for themselves and their communities, in South Asia and abroad.
Designated swimming area: A marked, managed place set aside for swimming, often with lifeguards and water quality checks. The safest place to swim outdoors.
Differential parental treatment: When parents treat siblings differently in affection, discipline or privileges. Children notice, and fairness matters.
Disenfranchised grief: Grief that others don't fully recognize or support, so the grieving person feels they have no right to mourn.
Door alarm: An alarm that sounds when a door to the yard or pool opens, warning you that a child may be heading outside.
Double red flag: Where used, two red flags mean the water is closed to the public. Going in may bring a fine or arrest.
Drain entrapment: When suction from a pool or spa drain traps a person's hair, body, jewelry or swimsuit underwater.
Drop-off: A place where natural water suddenly gets deeper, leaving a wading child or weak swimmer out of their depth.
Drowning: Breathing trouble caused by being under or in water. Drowning can be fatal or nonfatal.
Drowning disparities: Differences in drowning rates between groups of people, shaped largely by unequal access to pools and swimming lessons.
Dry drowning (myth term): A popular term, not a medical one. Drowning symptoms start right away; get care for coughing, breathing trouble or confusion.

E

Electric shock drowning: Drowning caused when electrical current leaking from a dock, marina or boat paralyzes a swimmer. Most common in fresh water.
Emergency action plan: A written plan for who does what in a water emergency: who watches, who calls 911, where the rescue gear is.
EMS: Emergency medical services: the ambulance crews and paramedics you reach by calling 911.
Engine cut-off switch: A device that stops a boat's motor if the operator is thrown from the helm. Required on many boats under 26 feet.
Epilepsy: A condition that causes repeated seizures. People with epilepsy have a higher drowning risk, especially in bathtubs.

F

Fatal drowning: A drowning that results in death. In the U.S., about 4,000 people died this way each year from 2012 to 2021, per CDC.
Flash flood: Flooding that starts within about 6 hours of heavy rain, often faster. It can happen on city streets and underpasses.
Float plan: A note you leave with someone on shore saying where you're boating, who's with you and when you'll be back.
Flutter kick: A kick with straight legs moving up and down in quick, small strokes, used in freestyle and backstroke.
Freestyle (front crawl): The most common swimming stroke, face down with alternating arms. AAP says most children in lessons master it by age 6.
Front float: Floating face down with arms and legs stretched out. An early swim lesson skill that leads into strokes.

G

Gasp reflex: The sudden, involuntary deep breath when you hit cold water. If your head is under, you can inhale water.
Grief: The emotional response to losing someone or something you love. It has no set timeline and no single right way.
Grief camp: A camp, often free, where grieving children spend time with others who have lost a parent, sibling or caregiver.
Grief counselor: A counselor or therapist trained to help people through grief and bereavement. Ask your doctor or a grief center for a referral.
Grief triggers: Reminders, such as a song, date or place, that bring grief back strongly. Common at holidays and milestones.

H

Hands-only CPR: CPR with chest compressions only, no breaths. Easy to learn, but drowning victims also need rescue breaths.
Harmful algal bloom: A fast overgrowth of algae or cyanobacteria that can make people and pets sick. It can look like scum, foam or paint.
HELP position: Heat Escape Lessening Position: knees to chest, arms at your sides, to slow heat loss while you wait in cold water.
Hot tub: A small heated pool or spa. It brings drowning and drain-entrapment risks, so keep it covered, locked and fenced.
Huddle position: Two to four people in life jackets holding each other chest to chest in cold water to save heat and be easier to spot.
Hydraulic (recirculating current): Water that circles back on itself below a dam or ledge, pushing people under and holding them. Very hard to escape.
Hyperventilation: Fast, deep breathing. Before swimming underwater it can lead to blacking out; cold water can also trigger it.
Hypothermia: Dangerously low body temperature, starting at a core temperature of 95°F. It is a medical emergency.

I

Ice picks: A pair of hand-held spikes worn around the neck on ice, used to grip the ice and pull yourself out if you fall through.
Inflatable life jacket: A compact life jacket that fills with gas when needed. Not for children, weak swimmers or non-swimmers.
Inflatable pool: A blow-up or portable pool. Small ones should be emptied and put away after use; large ones need a four-sided fence.
Instinctive drowning response: The body's automatic reaction when drowning: the person stays upright, can't call out or wave, and may go under within a minute.

J

Jetty: A wall of rock built out into the water. Strong, lasting rip currents often form beside jetties and piers.

L

Layers of protection: Several drowning-prevention steps used together, such as barriers, supervision, swim skills, life jackets and CPR, so one gap isn't fatal.
Life jacket: A wearable flotation device that keeps your head above water. Choose a U.S. Coast Guard-approved one that fits snugly.
Life jacket loaner station: A spot at a beach, marina or park where families can borrow a properly fitting life jacket for free.
Life jacket performance level: The number on newer life jacket labels (50, 70, 100, 150, 275) showing minimum buoyancy in newtons.
Lifeguard: A trained, certified rescuer who watches swimmers at a pool or beach. Lifeguards help, but parents still need to watch.
Lifeguard certification: Training that qualifies someone to work as a lifeguard. Red Cross lifeguard students must be at least 15 and pass a swim test.
Longshore current: A current that runs parallel to the beach, created when waves hit the shore at an angle. It can carry swimmers along the shore.
Low-head dam: A low wall across a river that can create a recirculating current below it, trapping people. Often called a drowning machine.

M

Modest swimwear: Swimwear that covers more of the body, such as long sleeves and leggings. Ask your pool what's allowed.
Mourning: The outward ways people show grief, such as funerals, rituals, prayers and remembrance, shaped by culture and faith.

N

National Water Safety Month: May in the United States: a month to remind families, before summer, that drowning is preventable.
Near drowning (outdated term): An outdated phrase. Experts now say nonfatal drowning for a drowning that a person survives.
Nonfatal drowning: A drowning that the person survives. Outcomes range from no injury to brain damage or lasting disability.

O

Open water: Natural water such as lakes, rivers, ponds and oceans, as opposed to pools. It hides currents, drop-offs and cold.

P

Paddle craft: Canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards. Paddle craft made up 26% of U.S. boating deaths in 2024.
Parent-child swim class: A water class where a parent is in the pool with a baby or toddler. Good for comfort and habits; not drowning protection under age 1.
Parentification: When a child is pushed into adult or parent-like roles, such as caring for siblings or a parent, beyond what fits their age.
Peer support group: A group of people who share a similar loss and meet to support each other, often free and led by trained facilitators.
Person overboard: Someone who has fallen from a boat into the water. Keep eyes on them, throw a float, call for help and don't jump in.
Personal flotation device (PFD): The official name for life jackets, buoyancy aids and throwable rings or cushions approved by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Pool alarm: An alarm that sounds when something enters the pool water. Useful as an extra layer, but it may miss a small child.
Pool lift: A seat-and-arm device that lowers a person with a disability into and out of a pool. Required at many public pools under the ADA.
Prolonged grief disorder: Intense, lasting grief that disrupts daily life, a year or more after a loss for adults (6 months for children). It can be treated.
Purple flag: Where used, a purple flag warns of dangerous marine life in the water. It can fly with other flags.

Q

Quarry: A pit dug for stone or gravel that may fill with water. Quarries hide ledges and machinery and are often very cold.

R

Reach or throw, don't go: The safe way to help someone in the water: reach with an object or throw something that floats, without going in.
Reaching pole: A long pole kept by a pool so you can reach a swimmer in trouble from the deck without going in.
Recreational water illness: Sickness caused by germs in water people swim in, often from swallowing it. CDC says don't swallow lake, river or ocean water.
Rescue breaths: Breaths given to a person who is not breathing, as part of CPR. They are especially important after a drowning.
Rhythmic breathing: Breathing in a steady pattern while swimming, usually breathing out underwater and turning to breathe in.
Ring buoy: A floating ring, often on a rope, thrown to a person in trouble so they can hold on while you pull them in.
Rip current: A narrow, fast channel of water flowing away from the beach. It pulls you out, not under. Float, then swim along the shore.
Rip current statement: A National Weather Service alert that dangerous rip currents are expected. A reason to stay out of the surf.
Riptide: A word often misused for rip current. NOAA reserves it for strong tidal currents in inlets and harbor mouths.

S

Safety cover: A strong, anchored pool cover designed to keep people out. Floating solar or winter covers are not safety covers.
Safety vacuum release system: A device that senses a blocked pool drain and releases the suction. One option for single-drain public pools.
Sandbar: A ridge of sand under the water near shore. Rip currents often form at gaps in sandbars.
Secondary drowning (myth term): Not a medical term. Drowning symptoms begin right away and can worsen over hours; see dry drowning for the warning signs.
Seizure: A burst of abnormal brain activity that can cause shaking or loss of awareness. A seizure in water is a reason to call 911.
Self-closing, self-latching gate: A pool gate that swings shut and locks by itself, with the latch high enough that a young child can't reach it.
Shallow water blackout: Passing out underwater after hyperventilating or holding your breath too long. It can drown even strong swimmers.
Shore break: Waves that break suddenly and hard right at the water's edge on steep beaches. They can cause neck and back injuries.
Sibling bond: The relationship between brothers and sisters. A close bond can protect children and matters for health in adulthood.
Sibling estrangement: When adult siblings stop being in contact or become distant. Some rifts can be repaired with time and care.
Sibling grief: Grief after a brother or sister dies. Siblings are often called the forgotten mourners because attention goes to parents.
Sibling rivalry: Competition and conflict between brothers and sisters. Some is a normal part of growing up; parents can help.
Solar cover: A floating pool cover that holds in heat. It is not a safety cover; a child can slip under it and be hidden.
Strainer: An obstacle in moving water, such as a fallen tree, that lets water through but can trap a swimmer or boater.
Sudden loss: A death that comes without warning, such as an accident. It can bring shock and, for some, traumatic grief.
Surf zone: The area near the beach where waves break. Rip currents and longshore currents form here.
Survival swimming: Lessons focused on self-rescue skills, such as getting back to the surface, floating and reaching the edge. No lesson makes a child drown proof.
Survivor guilt: Guilt about being alive when someone else died, or about past arguments. Common among grieving siblings.
Swiftwater: Fast-moving water in rivers, streams or floods. Even shallow swiftwater can knock a person down and carry them away.
Swiftwater rescue: Rescue in fast-moving water such as floods and rivers, done by specially trained and equipped responders.
Swim test: A check of someone's swimming skills before they use deeper water. Ask a pool or camp what its test includes.

T

Text to 911: Texting 911 when you can't safely call. In NYC it works in English and Spanish, but the city says to call if you can.
Throw bag: A bag of floating rope that you throw to someone in the water and use to pull them to shore. Common on rivers.
Throwable flotation device: A ring buoy or cushion made to be thrown to someone in the water. Boats over 16 feet must carry one.
Tide: The regular rise and fall of the sea. Tides create tidal currents, and rip currents are most common near low tide.
Touch supervision: Staying within arm's reach of a baby, toddler or weak swimmer in or near water, close enough to grab them instantly.
Traumatic grief: When trauma reactions after a death, often a sudden one, get in the way of a child's daily life and happy memories.
Treading water: Staying upright in deep water by moving your arms and legs. Treading or floating for 1 minute is a core water competency skill.
Turn Around Don't Drown: The National Weather Service's flood safety message: never drive or walk into floodwater; turn around instead.

U

Undertow: Water flowing back out to sea near the bottom as waves break. It is not the same as a rip current and does not pull you under.

V

Vessel safety check: A free, voluntary check of your boat's safety equipment by a trained volunteer. No citation is issued if it fails.
Virginia Graeme Baker Act: The 2007 federal pool and spa safety law requiring anti-entrapment drain covers in public pools and spas.

W

Wandering (elopement): When a child or adult who needs supervision leaves a safe place unnoticed. For children with autism, water is a major danger.
Water acclimation: Helping a child or adult get comfortable in water before formal swim skills, often in a parent-child class.
Water competency: The skills to stay safe in water you didn't plan to be in, plus water smarts and knowing how to help others.
Water rescue: Getting a person out of danger in the water. For bystanders that means reach or throw; trained teams handle in-water rescues.
Water safety education: Teaching people how to stay safe in, on and around water, from swim skills to recognizing drowning and helping safely.
Water Safety Instructor (WSI): An American Red Cross certification for teaching swim lessons and water safety courses. Certificates last 2 years.
Water Watcher: An adult whose only job is to watch children in the water, with no phone, reading or other tasks, handing off at set times.
Water wings: Inflatable armbands for children. They are toys, not safety devices: they can deflate or slip off.
White ice: Cloudy ice formed when snow melts and refreezes. It is only about half as strong as clear ice, so double the thickness rules.
WISQARS: CDC's free online injury data system (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System), which includes U.S. drowning deaths.
World Drowning Prevention Day: 25 July, named by the UN General Assembly in 2021 to raise awareness that drowning is preventable.