How does water move during osmosis?

Water always moves to an area of lower (more negative) water potential, assuming the boundary between the areas is permeable. Water potential is effectively water concentration. Pure water is given a water potential of 0, which is the highest possible value. Hence, lower water potentials become more negative.

Water moves during osmosis from an area of higher water concentration (lower solute concentration) to an area of lower water concentration (higher solute concentration) across a semi-permeable membrane.

During osmosis, water moves across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration. This movement occurs in an attempt to equalize the concentration of solutes on both sides of the membrane. Osmosis is a passive process, meaning it does not require energy input from the cell. As water molecules are smaller than most solute molecules, they are able to pass through the semi-permeable membrane, while larger solute molecules are not. The direction of water movement is determined by the concentration gradient of solutes across the membrane, with water moving from the side with lower solute concentration (hypotonic solution) to the side with higher solute concentration (hypertonic solution), until equilibrium is reached.