An element designated to encapsulate any additional information related to cash and cash equivalents not otherwise addressed by the existing taxonomy. Cash includes currency on hand as well as demand deposits with banks or financial institutions. It also includes other kinds of accounts that have the general characteristics of demand deposits in that the Entity may deposit additional funds at any time and also effectively may withdraw funds at any time without prior notice or penalty. Cash equivalents, excluding items classified as marketable securities, include short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash, and so near their maturity that they present minimal risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. Generally, only investments with original maturities of three months or less qualify under that definition. Original maturity means original maturity to the entity holding the investment. For example, both a three-month US Treasury bill and a three-year Treasury note purchased three months from maturity qualify as cash equivalents. However, a Treasury note purchased three years ago does not become a cash equivalent when its remaining maturity is three months.

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Period Type:	duration

Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) (USD $) Share data in Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended			23 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Mar. 29, 2014	Mar. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Mar. 29, 2014 May 2012 Program [Member]	May 09, 2012 May 2012 Program [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Programs authorized by Board of Directors [Member]	Mar. 30, 2013 Programs authorized by Board of Directors [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Related To Vesting Of Restricted Stock Units [Member]	Mar. 30, 2013 Related To Vesting Of Restricted Stock Units [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Unsecured debt [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Unsecured debt [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Held by foreign subsidiaries [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Held by foreign subsidiaries [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 US Treasury Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 US Treasury Securities [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Foreign Government Debt Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Foreign Government Debt Securities [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Corporate Debt Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Corporate Debt Securities [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Time Deposits [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Time Deposits [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Equity Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Equity Securities [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)	Dec. 31, 2013 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)	Mar. 29, 2014 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) US Treasury Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) US Treasury Securities [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) Foreign Government Debt Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) Foreign Government Debt Securities [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) Corporate Debt Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) Corporate Debt Securities [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) Time Deposits [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) Time Deposits [Member]	Mar. 29, 2014 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) Equity Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) Equity Securities [Member]
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional amount of foreign exchange contracts	$ 117,000,000		$ 104,000,000
Realized (losses) gains on foreign exchange contracts	(314,000)	694,000
Unrealized losses on foreign exchange contracts	(881,000)	(570,000)
Cumulative net pre-tax (losses) gains on foreign exchange contracts	(1,195,000)	124,000
Fair Value of Assets and Liabilities Measured on a Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments, Fair Value	1,493,778,000		1,399,840,000											629,981,000	556,539,000	34,990,000	139,670,000	757,815,000	629,434,000	70,845,000	74,050,000	147,000	147,000			629,981,000	556,539,000	34,990,000	139,670,000	757,815,000	629,434,000	70,845,000	74,050,000	147,000	147,000
Other cash equivalents	54,929,000		62,851,000																					54,929,000	62,851,000
Waters 401(k) Restoration Plan assets	31,901,000		31,203,000																					31,901,000	31,203,000
Forward foreign exchange contract assets	370,000		929,000																					370,000	929,000
Fair value of total assets measured on a recurring basis	1,580,978,000		1,494,823,000																					1,580,978,000	1,494,823,000
Forward foreign exchange contract liabilities	410,000		88,000																					410,000	88,000
Fair value of total liabilities measured on a recurring basis	410,000		88,000																					410,000	88,000
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments [Line Items]
Cash equivalents description	Cash equivalents represent highly liquid investments, with original maturities of 90 days or less, while investments with longer maturities are classified as investments.
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments	1,853,000,000		1,804,000,000									1,824,000	1,738,000
Debt [Line Items]
Long-term debt	1,100,000,000		1,190,000,000							400,000,000	400,000,000
Fair value of debt instruments										404,000,000	398,000,000
Stock Repurchase Program [Line Items]
Stock repurchase program authorization amount					750,000,000
Treasury stock shares acquired				5.1		0.8	1.0
Treasury stock				488,000,000		86,000,000	95,000,000	7,000,000	6,000,000
Stock repurchase program remaining amount authorized for future purchases				262,000,000
Stock repurchase program period, in years					2 years
Warranty Accrual Roll Forward [Abstract]
Accrued warranty liability, balance at beginning of period	12,962,000	12,353,000
Accruals for warranties	1,752,000	2,404,000
Settlements made	(1,919,000)	(2,101,000)
Accrued warranty liability, balance at end of period	$ 12,795,000	$ 12,656,000