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Litigation - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($)
Obligation with Joint and Several Liability Arrangement [Line Items] |
Litigation provision during the year | $ 5
Other Income [Member] |
Obligation with Joint and Several Liability Arrangement [Line Items] |
Guaranteed payments received | 10
Settled Litigation [Member] |
Obligation with Joint and Several Liability Arrangement [Line Items] |
Proceeds from guaranteed payments, net of tax | $ 3

X
- Definition Amount charged against operating income increasing loss contingency liability, after adjustments to reduce previously estimated charges. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121557415&loc=d3e14326-108349 + Details
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Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

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- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
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Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Cash received for the settlement of litigation during the current period. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 25 -Subparagraph (c) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123570139&loc=d3e3536-108585 + Details
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- Definition Guaranteed payments received. + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | wat_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
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- Details
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Namespace Prefix: |
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Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
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Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |