Meaning & use
lagoon
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Meanings
nouncountable
A stretch of shallow, usually calm seawater lying behind a sandbar, reef, or low strip of land that partly cuts it off from the open ocean.
Grammar: A regular countable noun: a lagoon, many lagoons.
Patterns
- a lagoon behind something
- a lagoon off the coast
Flamingos waded through the shallow lagoon at dusk.
A sandbar separates the quiet lagoon from the open Atlantic.
The fishing boats stay in the lagoon when the sea turns rough.
nouncountabletechnical
The sheltered body of water in the middle of a coral atoll, surrounded by a ring of reef.
Grammar: Often used with the atoll it belongs to: the atoll's lagoon.
Patterns
- the lagoon of an atoll
Divers explored the coral gardens in the atoll's lagoon.
The turquoise lagoon is visible from the airplane window.
Children swim safely inside the lagoon, far from the open surf.
nouncountabletechnical
A man-made pond used for holding and treating wastewater or animal waste.
Grammar: A technical use in farming and sewage treatment: a waste lagoon.
Patterns
- a sewage lagoon
- a waste lagoon
The town built a sewage lagoon on the edge of the farmland.
Heavy rain caused the farm's waste lagoon to overflow.
Word forms
| plural | lagoons |
|---|
Common combinations
- tropical lagoon
- They snorkeled in a tropical lagoon full of colorful fish.
- coral lagoon
- The coral lagoon glowed turquoise in the sunlight.
- shallow lagoon
- The shallow lagoon warms up quickly in summer.
- tidal lagoon
- The tidal lagoon fills and empties twice each day.
- calm lagoon
- We paddled our kayaks across the calm lagoon.
- lagoon waters
- The lagoon waters were clear enough to see the sandy bottom.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bay
- A bay is a curve of coastline that is open to the sea, while a lagoon is partly cut off by a barrier.
- inlet
- An inlet is a narrow channel of water leading inland and need not be shallow or sheltered like a lagoon.
- estuary
- An estuary is where a river meets the sea and the water is a mix of fresh and salt, which is not required for a lagoon.
- pond
- A pond is a small body of still water that is not connected to the sea, unlike a coastal lagoon.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: lagoon or lake?
lagoon vs lake
A lake is usually freshwater and inland, whereas a lagoon is saltwater or brackish and lies beside the sea.
Practice
Which place is most likely to be called a lagoon?
Choose one answer.
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from the sea by a barrier such as a reef. A mountain lake and a river are freshwater and inland, and an ocean trench is open and deep.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lagoon”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.