lagoon

[ luh-goon ]
See synonyms for lagoon on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an area of shallow water separated from the sea by low sandy dunes.: Compare laguna.

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

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

Origin of lagoon

1
1605–15; earlier laguna (singular), lagune (plural) <Italian <Latin lacūna (singular), lacūnae (plural) “ditch, pool,” akin to lacus basin, lake1; see lacuna

Other words from lagoon

  • la·goon·al, adjective

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How to use lagoon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lagoon

lagoon

/ (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

Origin of lagoon

1
C17: from Italian laguna, from Latin lacūna pool; see lacuna
  • Also (rare): lagune

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

Scientific definitions for lagoon

lagoon

[ lə-gōōn ]


  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.

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