lough

American  

[lok, lokh] / lɒk, lɒx /

noun

Irish English.

1. a lake.

2. a partially landlocked or protected bay; a narrow arm of the sea.

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lough British  

/ lɒx, lɒk /

noun

1. an Irish word for lake 1

2. a long narrow bay or arm of the sea in Ireland

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Etymology

Origin of lough

1505–15; Anglo-Irish spelling of Irish loch lake; compare Middle English low, lough ( e ), logh ( e ), Old English (Northumbrian) lūh < British Celtic *lux- (> Welsh llwch (obsolete) lake, Old Breton luh, Breton louc’h ), apparently < early Irish; see loch

Example Sentences

A handful of companies which were granted licenses in 2021 pay a fee to the owner of the lough bed, the Earl of Shaftesbury, for every tonne they extract.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

Researchers found that disturbance created by commercial dredging is "widespread" across the lough and "could be affecting the ecosystem".

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

But incidents of pollution happen right across Northern Ireland's waterways, not just those which eventually lead to the lough.

From BBC • Sep. 24, 2025

"If we want to save the lough, we'll not be saved from up on high. We'll have to do it ourselves and we'll not do it by bickering about whose fault it is."

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2025

We’d fish for eels and fry them in a pan not like Cuchulain, who would pluck them from the lough and swallow them, wriggling, because there’s great power in an eel.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt