lido

noun li·do \ ˈlē-(ˌ)dō \

Editor's Note: lido Comes From an Italian Resort

Definition of lido

plural lidos

: a fashionable beach resort

See lido defined for English-language learners

lido was our Word of the Day on 09/12/2014. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of lido from the Web

Even the city’s cornflower-blue-and-white trams empty out as residents hop on their bicycles and head for a badi (the natural swimming lidos along the lakes and rivers).

— adam h. graham, Condé Nast Traveler, "Plan a Trip to Zurich This Summer (Yes, Really)," 2 May 2018
Down below, white sand stretches east and west along the coast, divided into private beaches called lidos (rhymes with Speedos, of which there are more than a few), each defined by the color of its umbrellas.

— michael kiefer, USA TODAY, "Sperlonga, Italy: Beaches and the beauty of doing nothing," 14 Sep. 2017
Within easy reach of the city by uBahn, sBahn, or bike, and home to numerous chic, über-clean sommerbäder (lidos) for the less lake-inclined, Berlin really is a swimmer's heaven with an edge.

— alexandra pereira, CNT, "Why Swimming Is the Ultimate Berlin Summer Pastime," 9 Aug. 2017
The Nest feels like lounging on a lido deck, with a backdrop of islands and the snowcapped Olympics.

— tan vinh, The Seattle Times, "Negroni slushies, Negroni floats: Everything is on the table during Negroni Week," 31 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lido.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

lido Comes From an Italian Resort

The original Lido is a beach resort near Venice, Italy. The town’s name comes from the Italian word lido, which means "shore" or "bank." (The Italian root derives from litus, the Latin word for "shore.") By the mid-19th century, Lido’s reputation as a chic vacation destination for the well-to-do made it the envy of seaside resorts everywhere. English speaking social climbers generalized the town’s name and started using it for any fashionably Lido-esque beach.