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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

See Examples For:

lake Lake

After we had spoken, we walked down to the lake on the estate where, on a wooded island, Diana was laid to rest.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

Still, because the homes are staggered up a hillside, upward of 100 properties could gain a better lake view from the poisoned trees’ removal, according to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Main had accepted the offer by an associate to fly a small group of Remax people to his lake cabin, a short distance away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Divers from the Metropolitan Police were called in to search Decoy Pond, a nearby fishing lake.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Carefully, she touched her right toes to the lake bottom.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

Kinghan's claim, issued through a statutory demand, centres upon three engines he bought for the museum as part of its plans to run Bluebird in the Lake District earlier this year.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

“Root systems protect Lake Tahoe’s clarity by stabilizing soils that could erode, and uptaking nutrients that would feed algae in the lake,” Cowen wrote in an email.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

When students ask about the lake’s name, Jonna St. Croix, a social studies teacher at Sackets Harbor Central School, calls it Lake Ontario, following state curriculum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

A question has bedeviled a wealthy Lake Tahoe enclave for years: Who is poisoning the towering trees that stand sentry on the North Shore?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Ridge looked at Michael, and Michael’s mind backtracked to the day after they’d visited the mall, when they sat on the couch side-by-side, watching Ricki Lake.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Related Words

• basin
• lagoon
• pond
• pool
• reservoir