definitions

lake

1
[ leyk ]
/ leɪk /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lake ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land.
any similar body or pool of other liquid, as oil.

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RELATED WORDS

pool, pond, basin, lagoon, reservoir, creek, spring, sluice, mouth, mere, loch, millpond, tarn

Nearby words

laith, laity, laius, lajoie, lak cell, lake, lake 1, lake 2, lake breeze, lake charles, lake district

Idioms

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

Origin of lake

1
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 leach1)

Definition for lake (2 of 3)

lake

2
[ leyk ]
/ leɪk /

noun

any of various pigments prepared from animal, vegetable, or coal-tar coloring matters by chemical or other union with metallic compounds.
a red pigment prepared from lac or cochineal by combination with a metallic compound.

Origin of lake

2
First recorded in 1610–20; variant of lac1

Definition for lake (3 of 3)

Lake

[ leyk ]
/ leɪk /

noun

Simon,1866–1945, U.S. engineer and naval architect.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lake

British Dictionary definitions for lake (1 of 2)

lake

1
/ (leɪk) /

noun

an expanse of water entirely surrounded by land and unconnected to the sea except by rivers or streamsRelated adjective: lacustrine
anything resembling this
a surplus of a liquid commoditya wine lake

Word Origin for lake

C13: lac, via Old French from Latin lacus basin

British Dictionary definitions for lake (2 of 2)

lake

2
/ (leɪk) /

noun

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 hydroxideSee also mordant
a red dye obtained by combining a metallic compound with cochineal

Word Origin for lake

C17: variant of lac 1
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

Science definitions for lake

lake

[ lāk ]

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.