lagoon

American  

[luh-goon] / ləˈgun /

noun

1. an area of shallow water separated from the sea by low sandy dunes.

2. Also lagune any small, pondlike body of water, especially one connected with a larger body of water.

3. an artificial pool for storage and treatment of polluted or excessively hot sewage, industrial waste, etc.

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lagoon British  

/ ləˈɡuːn /

noun

1. a body of water cut off from the open sea by coral reefs or sand bars

2. any small body of water, esp one adjoining a larger one

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lagoon Scientific  

/ lə-go̅o̅n′ /

1. 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.

2. A shallow pond or lake close to a larger lake or river but separated from it by a barrier such as a levee.

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Other Word Forms

• lagoonal adjective

Etymology

Origin of lagoon

1605–15; earlier laguna (singular), lagune (plural) < Italian < Latin lacūna (singular), lacūnae (plural) “ditch, pool,” akin to lacus basin, lake ¹; lacuna

Example Sentences

It has the largest tidal reedbed in England and wildfowl and waders feed and nest in the six shallow lagoons, marshland and mudflats.

From BBC

I was traveling at a good five or six miles an hour, well ahead of Oteg, on a lagoon formed by the Innoko River, when the trail began to tremble.

From Literature

After a false start at a resort off Trieste, he arrives in Venice and rides across the lagoon to nearby Lido.

From The Wall Street Journal

Initially, “Lord of the Flies” is all childish adventure: swimming in a lagoon, climbing a mountain.

From The Wall Street Journal

Along the oil-streaked shores of Lake Maracaibo — actually a massive coastal lagoon, fed by both freshwater rivers and the Caribbean — the vestiges of a once-thriving enterprise stand out like totems from a past civilization.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bayou
• pond
• pool