lagoon
Americannoun
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an area of shallow water separated from the sea by low sandy dunes.
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Also lagune any small, pondlike body of water, especially one connected with a larger body of water.
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an artificial pool for storage and treatment of polluted or excessively hot sewage, industrial waste, etc.
noun
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a body of water cut off from the open sea by coral reefs or sand bars
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any small body of water, esp one adjoining a larger one
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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.
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A shallow pond or lake close to a larger lake or river but separated from it by a barrier such as a levee.
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Initially, “Lord of the Flies” is all childish adventure: swimming in a lagoon, climbing a mountain.
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
The crescent-shaped Venetian lagoon glows in shades of turquoise, revealing the network of islands that form the floating city of Venice along the Adriatic coast.
From Science Daily
Fish associated with reefs and those that live near the seafloor were more likely to contain microplastics than fish found in lagoons, coastal waters, or the open ocean.
From Science Daily
This is the biggest of 10 lagoons in a mega-city that is facing an acute housing crisis - and where life is becoming increasingly expensive, pushing more people to the margins of society.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
