lake oxbow lake A lake which is formed when a wide meander from a stream or a river is cut off to form a lake. They are called oxbow lakes due to the distinctive curved shape that results from this process. ENVO ENVO:00000202 EcoLexicon:ox-bow_lake FTT:221 FTT:903 Geonames:H.LKO TGN:21139 Wikipedia:Oxbow_lake lake oxbow oxbow lake