Phrase guide

oxbow lake

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A crescent-shaped lake formed near a flat-valleyed river when one of its meanders becomes pinched off and isolated.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonym: billabong (Australia)

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: billabong

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: lake

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

33 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: braç mort — crescent-shaped lake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 牛軛湖 /牛轭湖 (niú'èhú) — crescent-shaped lake
  • Cornish: stummlynn — crescent-shaped lake
  • Czech: mrtvé rameno — crescent-shaped lake
  • Dutch: hoefijzermeer — crescent-shaped lake
  • Esperanto: meandra lago — crescent-shaped lake
  • Finnish: juolua — crescent-shaped lake
  • Finnish: makkarajärvi — crescent-shaped lake
  • French: bras mort — crescent-shaped lake
  • German: Altarm — crescent-shaped lake
  • German: Altwasser — crescent-shaped lake
  • Icelandic: bjúgvatn — crescent-shaped lake
  • Italian: lanca — crescent-shaped lake
  • Japanese: 三日月湖 (mikazukiko) — crescent-shaped lake
  • Korean: 우각호 (ugakho) — crescent-shaped lake
  • Latvian: vecupe — crescent-shaped lake
  • Lithuanian: sénvagė — crescent-shaped lake
  • Macedonian: мртвица (mrtvica) — crescent-shaped lake
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kroksjø — crescent-shaped lake
  • Norwegian Bokmål: meandersjø — crescent-shaped lake
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: kroksjø — crescent-shaped lake
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: meandersjø — crescent-shaped lake
  • Polish: starorzecze — crescent-shaped lake
  • Polish: jezioro przyrzeczne — crescent-shaped lake
  • Portuguese: braço morto — crescent-shaped lake
  • Romanian: belciug — crescent-shaped lake
  • Russian: старица (starica) — crescent-shaped lake
  • Slovene: mrtvica — crescent-shaped lake
  • Slovene: mrtvi rokav — crescent-shaped lake
  • Spanish: brazo muerto — crescent-shaped lake
  • Spanish: lago en herradura — crescent-shaped lake
  • Swedish: korvsjö — crescent-shaped lake
  • Welsh: ystumllyn — crescent-shaped lake