Learn English – Stuck writing a sentence because tea is a ‘beverage’ and water is not!

This is something that can vary depending on where in the English-speaking world you are. There are also some words that are used very precisely within the beverage industry, but perhaps more broadly and imprecisely by the general public.

Here are a few terms that apply to unflavored, unsweetened, carbonated water:

• Carbonated water is not really a special term, it's a technical phrase that describes water put under pressure and supersaturated with dissolved carbon dioxide. At atmospheric pressure, the CO2 spontaneously comes out of solution in the form of little bubbles. Thus, it's an umbrella term that includes all the other varieties I'm listing below.

• Fizzy water I think of as distinctly British and I think it means any carbonated water, but I welcome any correction from a BrE speaker.

• Sparkling water (sometimes sparkling mineral water) is water that is naturally carbonated by dissolving carbonate minerals underground. It will also contain other dissolved minerals. Some people may use "sparkling water" to mean all types of carbonated water, but in some places it is illegal use the label "sparkling water" commercially if it is not naturally carbonated.

• Club soda or soda water is an artificial imitation of sparkling mineral water. Dissolved minerals and carbonation are added by a manufacturer in the bottling/canning process. Each maker of club soda has their own proprietary recipe, but sodium bicarbonate is a common ingredient, which is where the "soda" name came from.

• Seltzer water (or just seltzer) is water that is carbonated on-demand, often with a CO2 cartridge in some hand-held device. I used to think of seltzer as an old-fashioned term dating from the mid-20th century when a soda siphon might have been a feature of a luxuriously-appointed home bar (or a prop in a Three Stooges episode). The term has become more common in recent years as home carbonation kits like the SodaStream have become popular. Some people may use the term to mean any carbonated water.

When you are talking about sweetened, flavored beverages, then the most technically precise phrase would be carbonated beverage. What people call them in everyday speech varies a lot depending on where in the English-speaking world you are, you might hear any of the following:

soda; pop; soda pop; soft drink; fizzy drink; tonic; coke

Note that tonic is the name of a particular flavor and Coke is a specific brand, but there are places that use these words as generic terms for all carbonated beverages.

Here's an article with a map showing the geographic distribution of these terms in the USA.