Meanings
proper nounthe Great Lakes pl (normally plural, singular Great Lake)
singular Great Lake
- plural normallyA group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border, consisting of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron (Lake Michigan–Huron), Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
A ship called the Vandalia out of Oswego is widely credited as the first propeller-driven steamship on the Great Lakes in 1841.
2015 October 22, Michael Pearson, “153-year-old shipwreck found in Lake Ontario”, in CNN, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2016 - plural normallyA settlement in the city of North Chicago, Lake County, Illinois, around Great Lakes station, named after the Naval Station Great Lakes.
- plural normallyA group of lakes located in and around the East African Rift, including Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, and several others.
Translations
Afrikaans Groot Mere
- Groot Merea group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Arabic اَلْبُحَيْرَات اَلْعُظْمَى
- اَلْبُحَيْرَات اَلْعُظْمَى (al-buḥayrāt al-ʕuẓmā)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Basque Aintzira Handiak
- Aintzira Handiaka group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Bengali বৃহৎ হ্রদসমূহ
- বৃহৎ হ্রদসমূহ (brihot hrodśomuho)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Bulgarian Големите езера
- Големите езера (Golemite ezera)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Catalan Grans Llacs d'Amèrica del Nord, Grans Llacs
- Grans Llacs d'Amèrica del Norda group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
- Grans Llacsa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Chinese Cantonese 五大湖
- 五大湖 (ng⁵ daai⁶ wu⁴)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Chinese Mandarin 五大湖
- 五大湖 (Wǔ Dà Hú)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Czech Velká jezera
- Velká jezeraa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Danish Store søer
- Store søera group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Dutch Grote Meren
- Grote Merena group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Esperanto Grandaj Lagoj
- Grandaj Lagoja group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Estonian Suur järvistu
- Suur järvistua group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Finnish Isotjärvet, Pohjois-Amerikan Isotjärvet
- Isotjärveta group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
- Pohjois-Amerikan Isotjärveta group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
- Pohjois-Amerikan suuret järveta group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
- Afrikan Isotjärveta group of lakes located in and around the East African Rift
French Grands Lacs
- Grands Lacsa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
German Große Seen
- Große Seena group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Greek Μεγάλες Λίμνες
- Μεγάλες Λίμνες (Megáles Límnes)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Hebrew הימות הגדולות
- הימות הגדולות (ha-yámot ha-gadólot)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Hindi विशाल झीलें
- विशाल झीलें (viśāl jhīlẽ)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Hungarian Nagy-tavak
- Nagy-tavaka group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Icelandic Vötnin miklu
- Vötnin miklua group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Indonesian Danau-Danau Besar
- Danau-Danau Besara group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Irish Na Lochanna Móra
- Na Lochanna Móraa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Italian Grandi Laghi
- Grandi Laghia group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Japanese 五大湖
- 五大湖 (Godaiko)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Korean 오대호
- 오대호 (Odaeho)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Latvian Lielie ezeri
- Lielie ezeria group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Lithuanian Didieji ežerai
- Didieji ežeraia group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Malay Tasik-Tasik Besar Amerika
- Tasik-Tasik Besar Amerikaa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Norwegian Bokmål De store sjøer
- De store sjøera group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Persian دریاچههای بزرگ
- دریاچههای بزرگ (daryâče-hâ-ye bozorg)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Polish Wielkie Jeziora Północnoamerykańskie, Kraina Wielkich Jezior
- Wielkie Jeziora Północnoamerykańskiea group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
- Kraina Wielkich Jeziora group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
- Wielkie Jeziora Afrykańskiea group of lakes located in and around the East African Rift
Portuguese Grandes Lagos
- Grandes Lagosa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Punjabi ਮਹਾਨ ਝੀਲਾਂ
- ਮਹਾਨ ਝੀਲਾਂ (mahān jhīlā̃)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Romanian Marile Lacuri
- Marile Lacuria group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Russian Вели́кие озёра
- Вели́кие озёра (Velíkije ozjóra)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Slovak Veľké kanadské jazerá
- Veľké kanadské jazeráa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Spanish Grandes Lagos
- Grandes Lagosa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Swahili Maziwa Makuu
- Maziwa Makuua group of lakes located in and around the East African Rift
Swedish Stora sjöarna
- Stora sjöarnaa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Tamil அமெரிக்கப் பேரேரிகள்
- அமெரிக்கப் பேரேரிகள் (amerikkap pērērikaḷ)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Thai เกรตเลกส์
- เกรตเลกส์ (grèet-leeks)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Turkish Büyük Göller
- Büyük Göllera group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Ukrainian Вели́кі озе́ра
- Вели́кі озе́ра (Velýki ozéra)a group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Vietnamese Ngũ Đại Hồ, Hồ Lớn Bắc Mỹ
- Ngũ Đại Hồa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
- Hồ Lớn Bắc Mỹa group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
- Hồ Lớn châu Phia group of lakes located in and around the East African Rift
- Đại Hồ châu Phia group of lakes located in and around the East African Rift
- Đại Hồ Phi châua group of lakes located in and around the East African Rift
Welsh Llynnoedd Mawr
- Llynnoedd Mawra group of five lakes on the United States–Canada border
Cite this entry
APA
Great Lakes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Great%20Lakes
MLA
“Great Lakes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Great%20Lakes. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Great Lakes,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Great%20Lakes.
Source: Great Lakes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.