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. 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 ² 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 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; leach ¹ )

Origin of lake²

First recorded in 1610–20; variant of lac ¹

Example Sentences

In this single lake, more than 800 species have emerged from a shared ancestor in far less time than it took humans and chimpanzees to diverge.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

Over the next six decades, as the glacier retreated, the wedge expanded into a long finger, and the size of the lake grew twelvefold.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

This is especially important in areas where species overlap, such as open sandy regions of the lake where there are no clear physical boundaries separating habitats.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

Late one night in October 2023, part of the shelf of rocks and ice that dammed the lake in northeast India collapsed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

When news came that the boy’s village was to be flooded to make a mighty lake and dam to electrify Ghana, it seemed like a crazy rumor, but it would not go away.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Related Words

• basin
• lagoon
• pond
• pool
• reservoir