Fourth-largest Great Lake (4)
I believe the answer is:
erie
'fourth-largest great lake' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for erie that I've seen before include "Lake between Canada and the US" , "The lake sounds weird" , "One of the Great Lakes" , "Spooky-sounding" , "Superior companion" .)