as in bay
a part of a body of water that extends beyond the general shoreline
in his biography of Samuel Johnson, James Boswell tells of being conducted by a Scottish boatman "across one of the lochs, as they call them, or arms of the sea"
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Recent Examples of loch
Located on the shores of Loch Linnhe, one of 31,000 freshwater lochs in Scotland, Fort William sits in the shadow of Ben Nevis, at 4,490 feet the highest peak in Britain.
—
Patti Nickell,
Boston Herald,
15 Feb. 2026
Curling is a game of tradition, first played centuries ago on Scottish lochs, where players slide heavy granite rocks down a sheet of ice toward a target.
—
Pien Huang,
NPR,
11 Feb. 2026
While an exact date can’t be pinpointed, according to the World Curling Federation, the sport was played during its early stages on frozen lochs and ponds in northern Europe.
—
Ben Morse,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
Created by sculptor Andy Scott, the kelpies — shape-shifting mythical creatures from Scottish folklore that live in the country's famous lochs — were completed in 2013.
—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for loch
Patti Nickell,
Boston Herald,
15 Feb. 2026
Curling is a game of tradition, first played centuries ago on Scottish lochs, where players slide heavy granite rocks down a sheet of ice toward a target.
—
Pien Huang,
NPR,
11 Feb. 2026
While an exact date can’t be pinpointed, according to the World Curling Federation, the sport was played during its early stages on frozen lochs and ponds in northern Europe.
—
Ben Morse,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
Created by sculptor Andy Scott, the kelpies — shape-shifting mythical creatures from Scottish folklore that live in the country's famous lochs — were completed in 2013.
—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for loch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loch
Noun
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With the opening, IONNA now has 170 charging bays in Florida, with 320 additional bays scheduled to come online over the next three years.
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Metallica gives you alternative, bay-bee!
Noun
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Under a city ordinance, boats can only anchor in the estuary for 12 hours, officials said.
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Blue-green algae, known as cyanobacteria, naturally occur in inland waters, estuaries and the sea.
Noun
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After playing one more hole, the twelfth, along the firth, the course makes a turn inland for the duration of the round.
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Bleary-eyed coverage that kicks off before sunrise in the States, with gusts off the firth and cut lines that can swallow a top 10 in an hour.
Noun
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The nearby Atlantic coastline offers a variety of scenery and terrain, including quiet coves, granite shoreline, offshore islands and crashing surf.
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In a little cove below the falls, five feet of smashed canvas and wood testified to the fate of the canoe that had dumped.
Cite this Entry
“Loch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loch. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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