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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

The report, completed by CityGate Associates LLC, found “there was no failure ... to request evacuation orders west of Lake Avenue sooner.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Dan Sudit, a Salt Lake City-based wealth adviser and partner of Crewe Advisors, said he’s already seen users discuss how they’ve changed their spending habits because of Tuyo.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

And that should create new opportunities for communities that too often viewed downtown as not just a few miles up Lake Shore Drive, but a world away.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

It has previously been suggested that Liverpool's Albert Dock and River Mersey could host sailing events, with the Lake District potentially used for open-water swimming.

From BBC • May 16, 2026

He missed how when he was very young, his father would take him to Tempe Town Lake and they would feed the duck families.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Related Words

• basin
• lagoon
• pond
• pool
• reservoir