Many cut by a lake (7)
I believe the answer is:
several
'many' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'cut by a lake' is the wordplay.
'cut' becomes 'sever' (to sever is to cut or split).
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'lake' becomes 'L' (geographical abbreviation).
'sever'+'a'+'l'='SEVERAL'
(Other definitions for several that I've seen before include "A few; separate" , "A good few" , "Indefinite number more than two or three, but not many" , "Sundry, distinct" , "More than one or two" .)