lagoon

[luh-goon]

noun

1. an area of shallow water separated from the sea by low sandy dunes.

2. Also lagune any small, pondlike body of water, especially one connected with a larger body of water.

3. an artificial pool for storage and treatment of polluted or excessively hot sewage, industrial waste, etc.

lagoon

/ ləˈɡuːn /

noun

1. a body of water cut off from the open sea by coral reefs or sand bars

2. any small body of water, esp one adjoining a larger one

lagoon

1. A shallow body of salt water close to the sea but separated from it by a narrow strip of land, such as a barrier island, or by a coral reef.

2. A shallow pond or lake close to a larger lake or river but separated from it by a barrier such as a levee.

Other Word Forms

• lagoonal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lagoon¹

1605–15; earlier laguna (singular), lagune (plural) < Italian < Latin lacūna (singular), lacūnae (plural) “ditch, pool,” akin to lacus basin, lake ¹; lacuna

Word History and Origins

Origin of lagoon¹

C17: from Italian laguna, from Latin lacūna pool; see _lacuna

Example Sentences

The land is brown, the seasonal lagoon has dried up, and no one is out walking.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Elegant terns cried and circled in the distance, and pelicans flew from the ocean to the lagoon, so close overhead sometimes I could hear the flapping of their heavy wings.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Over the last week, they have tracked the birds on a digital map crossing Mexico, headed for Andean lagoons in Ecuador and Bolivia.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"When we got there, there was like a lagoon, blue, crystal clear water. We saw loads of caves, and then we actually found the surprise, a hidden waterfall," explained Charlie.

Read more on BBC

At least five people were killed and two bodies were found in the lagoons north of central Lomé, though whether they had drowned while fleeing arrest or been deliberately killed was unclear.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bayou 
• pond 
• pool