man-made lake
1
2.8
- noun
- /mæn-meɪd leɪk/
:
lago artificial
- Lake #5 is a relatively small, 10-acre man-made lake with a limited beach area (approximately 250 feet).
- a small man-made lake
- the largest man-made lake
- overlooking a man-made lake
Examples
-
The 626-acre campground contains six man-made lakes and is served by municipal sewer and vault privies.
Academic text (1994) -
The city plans to expand the park around the man-made lake to attract more visitors.
-
Flow is to the man-made lake at the southern boundary of this view.
Academic text (2010) -
The park contains two connected, man-made lakes.
Academic text (1998) -
There was an association between illness and swimming in one of the man-made lakes.
Academic text (1994) -
The peaceful compound is surrounded by small man-made lakes and palm trees.
Fiction book (1990) -
Lake McConaughy was the largest lake in Nebraska, one of the largest man-made lakes in the entire Midwest, and it drew not only locals but also vacationers from Omaha, Denver, and even farther.
Fiction book (1998) -
He picked up his coffee cup and went outside, standing on the rickety, tilted porch of the cottage, where he deliberately studied the smear of pink in the eastern sky and the rippling ribbons of light on the small, man-made lake in front of him.
Fiction book (1999) -
Families enjoy picnics by the edge of the man-made lake on warm summer days.
-
Birdwatchers often gather at the man-made lake to observe the variety of wildlife.
Synonyms
86
4.3
A large area, like a lake, that stores water or other liquids
1
3.5
A man-made area that holds water for a town, farm, or park
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a lake created by humans' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'man-made' (created by human effort) with 'lake' (an inland body of water). This adjective + noun composition is a regular, compositional pattern in English (and mirrors similar constructions in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Man-made lake comes from the simple picture of people making a place for water: they build a dam or dig a hole so water collects, creating a man-made lake. So, the phrase means 'a lake made by people'.