a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land.
any similar body or pool of other liquid, as oil.
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.
an expanse of water entirely surrounded by land and unconnected to the sea except by rivers or streams
anything resembling this
a surplus of a liquid commodity
a wine lake
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
a red dye obtained by combining a metallic compound with cochineal
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)
First recorded in 1610–20; variant of lac 1
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 Indigo lake, for example, is a blue pigment that was originally made from the woad plant but later from the indigo plant.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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was a Saturday, and the sky above the lake was shockingly clear.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
By adjusting their size, the larvae can change their buoyancy and control whether they rise or sink in the lake.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
The family are interested in watersports and recently bought a paddleboard, but Rachel said they would only consider using the lake if those concerns were addressed.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
According to ABC 7, a couple spotted Jackie sparring with two younger eagles on the lake shore last Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
In front of us was a smiling blue lake.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
So it makes sense that now, as a wellness writer, I became intrigued by Body Dada, a barre fitness studio with locations in Highland Park and Silver Lake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The thing that helped most was finding my own secret garden, a nearby bird sanctuary that crags out over Lake Michigan.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
England's Morgan Lake did not clear the bar with any of her three efforts in the high jump.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
An architect and his partner spent $3.9 million building a Z-shaped house just outside Salt Lake City.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
“We’ll bring the rains back, Pond. You’ll see. And soon, your waters will return, and I can call you Lake instead of Pond.”
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
