Pond Meaning
/pɒnd/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn inland body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is smaller than a lake.
nounAn inland body of standing water of any size that is fed by springs rather than by a river.
Sentence Examples
There used to be a pond around here.
There used to be a big pond around here.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The children enjoyed fishing for small fish in the shallow ____ behind the house.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The children spent the afternoon catching tadpoles in the shallow ____ at the edge of the park.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English pond, ponde (“pond, pool”), probably from Old English *pond, *pand (attested in placenames), a variant of *pund (“enclosure”). Doublet of pound.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"But when the moon rose and the breeze awakened, and the sedges stirred, and the cat's-paws raced across the moonlit ponds, and the far surf off Wonder Head intoned the hymn of the four winds, the trinity, earth and sky and water, became one thunderous symphony—a harmony of sound and colour silvered to a monochrome by the moon."
— 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
"The rate of fall of the surface of water ponded over the soil within the ring gives a measure of the infiltration rate for the particular enclosed area."
— 2004, Calvin W. Rose, An Introduction to the Environmental Physics of Soil, Water and Watersheds, →ISBN, page 201:
"Pleaseth you, pond your suppliant's plaint."
— 1579, Spenser, The Shepheardes Calender:
"The legendary liner is retiring from transatlantic sailing after 33 years of crossing the Pond between New York and Southampton, England."
— 2002 October 13, Renee Vogel, “Queenly Succession”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Dec 2025:
"The Pond, as it is dismissively known, is certainly in need of a revamp. Its waters have been despoiled and plundered to the brink of disaster – and in the case of the Grand Banks cod fishery, sent over that edge into deathly extinction."
— 2010 October 8, Kevin Rushby, “Atlantic: A Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Simon Winchester – review”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Jan 2014:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The children enjoyed fishing for small fish in the shallow ____ behind the house.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The children spent the afternoon catching tadpoles in the shallow ____ at the edge of the park.