test the waters
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
To try something new cautiously to see how it will be received
Thử điều gì đó mới một cách thận trọng để xem nó sẽ được đón nhận như thế nào
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “test the waters” mean?
To try something new cautiously to see how it will be received Literally: to put one's toes in the water
Is “test the waters” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.