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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of loch
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
In the first mission, Kelce got to spend time helping her team paddle a boat across a beautiful Scottish loch.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026
The stones stand between two lochs on the largest of the Orkney Islands, off the northeastern tip of mainland Scotland.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
What with its rippling mountains, meditative lochs, and misty woodlands, Scotland’s moody atmosphere hits its stride in the cooler seasons.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for loch
Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
In the first mission, Kelce got to spend time helping her team paddle a boat across a beautiful Scottish loch.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026
The stones stand between two lochs on the largest of the Orkney Islands, off the northeastern tip of mainland Scotland.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
What with its rippling mountains, meditative lochs, and misty woodlands, Scotland’s moody atmosphere hits its stride in the cooler seasons.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for loch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loch
Noun
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Other hospitality brands have followed suit, turning the larger Peninsula Papagayo area and Playa Penca, just across the bay, into a bona fide luxury enclave.—
Laura Dannen Redman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Mar. 2026
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Others, like the ribbon weed that grows in the bays of Gathaagudu, Australia, poke their flowers from tiny spikes atop leafless stems.—
David George Haskell,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But the estuary, which had been silting up since the 11th century, had different ideas.—
Rob Crossan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Mar. 2026
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The team tethered the crustaceans to posts at varying times of the year and at varying depths of Maryland’s Rhode River, a tidal estuary in Chesapeake Bay.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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.—
Jenny Catlin,
New York Times,
9 July 2025
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On the distant horizon was a cluster of faint street lights, a small town hunkered on the far side of the firth.—
Douglas Stuart,
The New Yorker,
6 Jan. 2020
Noun
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Ships with barely 100 cabins that can access coves and fishing villages no megaship can touch.—
Elycia Rubin,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Mar. 2026
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Bái Tử Long Bay has the same towering limestone islands and karst formations, caves, hidden coves, and floating fishing villages, but with a quieter, more quaint and intimate feel.—
Jasmine Ting,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Loch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loch. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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