What does "loch" mean?
A lake.
Loch
/lɔx/ name, noun
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A lake.
- Grammar: loch is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: arm, armlet, artificial lake, bay.
- Usage evidence: Is the Loch Ness monster real or is it just an elaborate hoax?
How to use "loch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "loch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "loch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "loch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "loch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "loch" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "arm" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "loch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A lake. Ireland, Scotland
"The greater part of Leuchars Loch belonged to the Inneses of Leuchars, Cotts to the Inneses of Innes; and while thus poſſeſſed, many unſucceſsful attempts to drain both, by canals, to the river Loſſie, ſeem to have been made. […] [A] very ordinary fall of rain raiſes it [the river] far beyond its natural bounds; and the immediate conſequence of ſuch floods, was, the ſpeat-water flowing into thoſe lochs, by the canal, and covering the adjacent meadows."
- 2 Alternative form of lohoch (“medicine taken by licking”). alt-of, alternative
"We may obtain, then, a just idea of the constitution of this liquid [milk], if we look upon it as a soft, liquid substance, a kind of loch,^* in which caseine, sugar, &c., are dissolved, and in which the fatty or oily substance is distributed in small, rounded atoms. [Footnote *: Loch, or lohoch, is an Arabian name for a medicine of a consistence between an electuary and a sirup, and usually taken by licking.[…]]"
- 3 Scottish word for a lake wordnet
- 4 A bay or arm of the sea. Ireland, Scotland
"It is well known, for instance, that the superiority of the herrings caught in the inland sea-lochs of Scotland is owing to the fish finding there a better feeding-ground than in the large and exposed open bays. Look, for instance, at Lochfyne: the land runs down to the water's edge, and the surface water or drainage carries with it rich food to fatten the loch, and put flesh on the herring; and what fish is finer, I would ask, than a Lochfyne herring?"
- 5 a long narrow inlet of the sea in Scotland (especially when it is nearly landlocked) wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A town in Bass Coast Shire and South Gippsland Shire, southern Victoria, Australia.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Is the Loch Ness monster real or is it just an elaborate hoax?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "loch"?
Common synonyms include: arm, armlet, artificial lake, bay, bayou, bayou lake.
How do you use "loch" in a sentence?
Is the Loch Ness monster real or is it just an elaborate hoax?
How do you pronounce "loch"?
Pronounced /lɔx/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English lough, borrowed from Scottish Gaelic loch. Doublet of lay, Looe, and lough.
Etymology 2
See lohoch.
Etymology 3
Two main origins: * Borrowed from German Loch, a topographic surname for someone who lived by a hollow or valley. * From Scottish Gaelic loch (“loch, lake”), a Scottish topographic surname.