hydrothermal
Americanadjective
adjective
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Relating to or produced by hot water, especially water heated underground by the Earth's internal heat.
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◆ Hydrothermal energy is power that is generated using the Earth's hot water.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hydrothermal
Explanation
The adjective hydrothermal is used to describe hot water, particularly water that's heated underground. If you visit Yellowstone, you'll probably see hydrothermal attractions like geysers and hot springs. Hydrothermal derives from Greek roots hydor, "water," and therme, "heat." It's been used by geologists since the 1850s to describe underground hot water. Hydrothermal activity occurs all over the planet, and it's especially common around active volcanoes. As well as steamy hot springs and dramatic geysers shooting hot water into the air, smaller mud pots and hydrothermal vents in the ocean floor are also evidence of water heating up beneath the earth's surface.
Vocabulary lists containing hydrothermal
hydr, hydro
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hydr, hydro
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: therm
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The same mechanism could help explain why hydrothermal sulfide deposits along submarine island arcs often contain unusually large amounts of gold.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
The resulting hydrothermal systems, comparable to the network of geysers around Yellowstone National Park, may have created favorable settings for the origin and early evolution of life.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026
"These results show that impacts were instrumental in driving hydrothermal changes to the early Earth's crust, with important consequences for the geochemical evolution of near-surface environments."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026
US palaeontologist Stephen Godfrey compared the "truly unique discovery" to past major underwater finds, such as when scientists first identified hydrothermal vents teeming with life on the ocean floor in 1977.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
These occurrences are generally held to be due to hydrothermal or geyser action.
From Getting Gold: a practical treatise for prospectors, miners and students by J. C. F. (Joseph Colin Frances) Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
