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• lake
  lake

  noun

  a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land.
• Lake
  Lake

  noun

  Simon, 1866–1945, U.S. engineer and naval architect.

lake

¹ American  

[leyk] / leɪk /

noun

1. a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land.

2. any similar body or pool of other liquid, as oil.

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idioms

1. (go) jump in the lake, (used as an exclamation of dismissal or impatience.)

lake ² American  

[leyk] / leɪk /

noun

1. any of various pigments prepared from animal, vegetable, or coal-tar coloring matters by chemical or other union with metallic compounds.

2. a red pigment prepared from lac or cochineal by combination with a metallic compound.

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Lake ³ American  

[leyk] / leɪk /

noun

1. Simon, 1866–1945, U.S. engineer and naval architect.

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lake ¹ British  

/ leɪk /

noun

1. an expanse of water entirely surrounded by land and unconnected to the sea except by rivers or streams

2. anything resembling this

3. a surplus of a liquid commodity

   a wine lake

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lake ² British  

/ leɪk /

noun

1. a bright pigment used in textile dyeing and printing inks, produced by the combination of an organic colouring matter with an inorganic compound, usually a metallic salt, oxide, or hydroxide See also mordant

2. a red dye obtained by combining a metallic compound with cochineal

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lake Scientific  

/ lāk /

1. A large inland body of standing fresh or salt water. Lakes generally form in depressions, such as those created by glacial or volcanic action; they may also form when a section of a river becomes dammed or when a channel is isolated by a change in a river's course.

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Etymology

Origin of lake¹

before 1000; Middle English lak ( e ), lac ( e ), apparently a conflation of Old French lac, its source, Latin lacus (compare Greek lákkos, Old Irish loch, Old English, Old Saxon lagu sea, water) and Old English lacu stream, water course (compare leccan to moisten, modern dial. lake stream, channel; see leach ¹)

Origin of lake²

First recorded in 1610–20; variant of lac ¹

Explanation

A lake is a large body of water that is surrounded by land. The lake's water can be fresh (like Lake Michigan) or, more rarely, salty (like the Great Salt Lake). A lake is generally accepted as being bigger than a "pond." Lake is also a type of pigment or dye that is made when a dye that can dissolve is mixed with a metallic salt or other binder that is incapable of being dissolved, rendering an insoluble pigment. Indigo lake, for example, is a blue pigment that was originally made from the woad plant but later from the indigo plant. Carmine or crimson lake, on the other hand, is made from crushed cochineal insects and is a red pigment.

Example Sentences

A 19-year-old man has died after being rescued from a lake in Nottinghamshire, police have said.

From BBC • May 30, 2026

A man tried to wrestle a Canada goose, while a woman defecated at the edge of the park’s lake.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

There were to have been miles of ski slopes and a full-on ski village with a man-made lake and luxury hotels and shops – a mini St Moritz in the mountains of Arabia.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

The site also contained stone tools along with the remains of elephants and other animals, suggesting the area was once used for butchering prey near the edge of an ancient lake.

From Science Daily • May 24, 2026

Ah, but this is no ordinary lake, said the visitors, it will be the biggest man-made lake in the world!

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Related Words

• basin
• lagoon
• pond
• pool
• reservoir