definitions

lagoon

[ luh-goon ]
/ ləˈgun /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lagoon ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an area of shallow water separated from the sea by low sandy dunes.Compare laguna.
Also lagune. any small, pondlike body of water, especially one connected with a larger body of water.
an artificial pool for storage and treatment of polluted or excessively hot sewage, industrial waste, etc.

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RELATED WORDS

pond, pool, bayou, marsh, gulf, shoal

Nearby words

laggingly, laghouat, lagniappe, lago de nicaragua, lagomorph, lagoon, lagoon islands, lagophthalmia, lagophthalmic keratitis, lagos, lagrange

Origin of lagoon

1605–15; earlier laguna (singular), lagune (plural) < Italian < Latin lacūna (singular), lacūnae (plural) ditch, pool, akin to lacus basin, lake1; see lacuna
Related formsla·goon·al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lagoon

British Dictionary definitions for lagoon

lagoon

/ (ləˈɡuːn) /

noun

a body of water cut off from the open sea by coral reefs or sand bars
any small body of water, esp one adjoining a larger one
Also (rare): lagune

Word Origin for lagoon

C17: from Italian laguna, from Latin lacūna pool; see lacuna
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lagoon

lagoon

n.

1670s, lagune, earlier laguna (1610s), from French lagune or directly from Italian laguna "pond, lake," from Latin lacuna "pond, hole," from lacus "pond" (see lake (n.1)). Originally in reference to the region of Venice; applied 1769 (by Capt. Cook) to the lake-like stretch of water enclosed in a South Seas atoll. Also cf. -oon.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Science definitions for lagoon

lagoon

[ lə-gōōn′ ]

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.
A shallow pond or lake close to a larger lake or river but separated from it by a barrier such as a levee.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.