LAKE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does lake mean? 

• LAKE (noun)
  The noun LAKE has 3 senses:

1. a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land

2. a purplish red pigment prepared from lac or cochineal

3. any of numerous bright translucent organic pigments

  Familiarity information: LAKE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LAKE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("lake" is a kind of...):

body of water; water (the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean))

Meronyms (parts of "lake"):

floor (the bottom surface of any lake or other body of water)

inlet; recess (an arm off of a larger body of water (often between rocky headlands))

Domain member category:

shore (the land along the edge of a body of water)

body of water; water (the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean))

lentic (of or relating to or living in still waters (as lakes or ponds))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lake"):

bayou (a swampy arm or slow-moving outlet of a lake (term used mainly in Mississippi and Louisiana))

tarn (a mountain lake (especially one formed by glaciers))

artificial lake; man-made lake; reservoir (lake used to store water for community use)

lagoon; laguna; lagune (a body of water cut off from a larger body by a reef of sand or coral)

pond; pool (a small lake)

oxbow lake (a crescent-shaped lake (often temporary) that is formed when a meander of a river is cut off from the main channel)

lough (Irish word for a lake)

loch (Scottish word for a lake)

Instance hyponyms:

Lake Superior; Superior (the largest freshwater lake in the world; the deepest of the Great Lakes)

Lake Vanern; Vanern (a lake in southwestern Sweden; the largest lake in Sweden)

Lake Saint Clair; Lake St. Clair (a lake between Ontario and Michigan; connected with Lake Huron and Lake Erie)

Lake Ontario; Ontario (the smallest of the Great Lakes)

Lake Onega; Onega (lake in northwestern Russia near the border with Finland; second largest lake in Europe)

Lake Malawi; Lake Nyasa (a long lake in southeastern Africa between Tanzania, Mozambique, and Malawi)

Lake Nasser; Nasser (lake in Egypt formed by dams built on the Nile River at Aswan)

Lake Michigan; Michigan (the 3rd largest of the Great Lakes; the largest freshwater lake entirely within the United States borders)

Ladoga; Lake Ladoga (a lake in northwestern Russia to the north of St. Petersburg; the largest lake in Europe; drains through the Neva River into the Gulf of Finland)

Lake Tana; Lake Tsana (a lake in northern Ethiopia; the largest lake in Ethiopia and the source of the Blue Nile)

Lake Tanganyika; Tanganyika (the longest lake in the world in central Africa between Tanzania and Congo in the Great Rift Valley)

Daryacheh-ye Orumiyeh; Lake Urmia; Urmia (a shallow saline lake in northwestern Iran between Tabriz and the western border of Turkey)

Lake Geneva; Lake Leman (a lake between southwestern Switzerland and France that is crossed from east to west by the Rhone)

Lake Victoria; Victoria Nyanza (the largest lake in Africa and the 2nd largest fresh water lake in the world; a headwaters reservoir for the Nile River)

Lake Okeechobee; Okeechobee (a lake in southeast Florida to the north of the Everglades)

Poyang (a lake in central China that is connected to the Chang Jiang by a canal)

Salton Sea (a saltwater lake in southeastern California)

Lake Seneca; Seneca Lake (a glacial lake in central New York; the largest of the Finger Lakes)

Lake Winnipeg; Winnipeg (a lake in southern Canada in Manitoba)

Great Salt Lake (a shallow body of salt water in northwestern Utah)

Balaton; Lake Balaton; Plattensee (a large shallow lake in western Hungary)

Canandaigua Lake; Lake Canandaigua (a glacial lake in central New York; one of the Finger Lakes)

Caspian; Caspian Sea (a large saltwater lake between Iran and Russia fed by the Volga River; the largest inland body of water in the world)

Cayuga Lake; Lake Cayuga (a glacial lake in central New York; the longest of the Finger Lakes)

Baikal; Baykal; Lake Baikal; Lake Baykal (the largest freshwater lake in Asia or Europe and the deepest lake in the world)

Lake Chelan (a narrow very deep lake in central Washington in the Cascade Range)

Coeur d'Alene Lake (a lake in northern Idaho)

Lake Tahoe (a lake on the border between Nevada and California to the west of Carson City; a popular resort area)

Bodensee; Constance; Lake Constance (a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River)

Dead Sea (a saltwater lake on the border between Israel and Jordan; its surface in 1292 feet below sea level)

Eyre; Lake Eyre (a shallow salt lake in south central Australia about 35 feet below sea level; the largest lake in the country and the lowest point on the continent)

Ilmen; Lake Ilmen (a lake in northwestern Russia; drains through the Volkhov River into Lake Ladoga)

Great Slave Lake (a lake in the Northwest Territories in northwestern Canada; drained by the Mackenzie River)

IJsselmeer (a shallow lake in northwestern Netherlands created in 1932 by building a dam across the entrance to the Zuider Zee)

Keuka Lake; Lake Keuka (a glacial lake in central New York; one of the Finger Lakes)

Kivu; Lake Kivu (a lake in the mountains of central Africa between Congo and Rwanda)

Lake Albert; Lake Albert Nyanza; Mobuto Lake (a shallow lake on the border between Uganda and Congo in the Great Rift Valley)

Aral Sea; Lake Aral (a lake to the east of the Caspian Sea lying between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan)

Chad; Lake Chad (a lake in north central Africa; fed by the Shari river)

Champlain; Lake Champlain (a lake in northeastern New York, northwestern Vermont and southern Quebec; site of many battles in the French and Indian War and in the American Revolution and in the War of 1812)

Lake Edward (a lake in the Great Rift Valley between Congo and Uganda)

Erie; Lake Erie (the 4th largest of the Great Lakes; it is linked to the Hudson River by the New York State Barge Canal)

Huron; Lake Huron (the 2nd largest of the Great Lakes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A purplish red pigment prepared from lac or cochineal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("lake" is a kind of...):

pigment (dry coloring material (especially a powder to be mixed with a liquid to produce paint, etc.))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any of numerous bright translucent organic pigments

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("lake" is a kind of...):

pigment (dry coloring material (especially a powder to be mixed with a liquid to produce paint, etc.))

 Context examples 

It was agreed that, immediately after our union, we should proceed to Villa Lavenza and spend our first days of happiness beside the beautiful lake near which it stood.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

"And there was no way for him across the salt lake," said Zilla.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

There was every reason to believe that she intended to remain for the season in her luxurious rooms overlooking the lake.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

That would significantly affect the economic resources supplied by the lake and the livelihoods of approximately 40 million people living in the Lake Victoria Basin.

(Environmental change in Africa: Will it lead to a drying Lake Victoria?, National Science Foundation)

But it was different out upon the rose-tinted waters of the central lake.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Landsat satellites captured this pair of images showing changes in the glacier and lake.

(Retreat of Yakutat Glacier, NASA)

The second tablet said: “The key of the princess’s bed-chamber must be fished up out of the lake.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Consider taking a trip to a town not too far from your base, one near water—a lake, river, or ocean—or lots of beautiful snow.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The Stimson unit overlies a layer of mudstone that was deposited in a lake environment.

(Mars Panorama from Curiosity Shows Petrified Sand Dunes, NASA)

But her heart was very heavy, she longed to be at home, and every day looked wistfully across the lake, waiting for Laurie to come and comfort her.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)