erupt

[ ih-ruhpt ]

verb (used without object)

1. to burst forth:

   Molten lava erupted from the top of the volcano.

   Synonyms: vent

2. (of a volcano, geyser, etc.) to eject matter.
3. to break out of a pent-up state, usually in a sudden and violent manner:

   Words of anger erupted from her.

4. to break out in a skin rash:

   Hives erupted all over his face and hands.

5. (of teeth) to grow through surrounding hard and soft tissues and become visible in the mouth.

verb (used with object)

1. to release violently; burst forth with:

   She erupted angry words.

   Synonyms: vent

2. (of a volcano, geyser, etc.) to eject (matter).

erupt

/ ɪˈrʌpt /

verb

1. to eject (steam, water, and volcanic material such as lava and ash) violently or (of volcanic material, etc) to be so ejected
2. intr (of a skin blemish) to appear on the skin; break out
3. intr (of a tooth) to emerge through the gum and become visible during the normal process of tooth development
4. intr to burst forth suddenly and violently, as from restraint

   to erupt in anger

Derived Forms

• eˈruption, noun
• eˈruptible, adjective

Other Words From

• e·rupti·ble adjective
• pree·rupt verb (used without object)
• ree·rupt verb (used without object)
• une·rupted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of erupt¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin ēruptus “burst forth, broken out” (past participle of ērumpere ), equivalent to ē- “out of, from” + ruptus, past participle of rumpere “to break, rupture”; e- ¹, rupture

Word History and Origins

Origin of erupt¹

C17: from Latin ēruptus having burst forth, from ērumpere, from rumpere to burst

Example Sentences

So when unrest erupted at the Capitol that day, antifa predictably got the blame.

From Washington Post

Jessica Simpson’s 2020 memoir, “Open Book,” detailed how the tabloid frenzy that erupted when she wore a pair of high-waisted, then-uncool “mom jeans” in 2009 exacerbated an existing diet-pill habit.

From Washington Post

She started there a week before the Glass Fire erupted and scorched much of the northern part of the valley, including the nearby Meadowood resort.

From Washington Post

On average, Earth has 40 known volcanoes erupting at any given moment.

From Quanta Magazine

More than 23 million people have been ordered to remain inside their homes in northern China to stymie new outbreaks—double the number confined in Wuhan when the pandemic first erupted.

From Time

Rob Marshall lets a sigh of relief erupt so loud it could be heard by giants in the sky.

From The Daily Beast

The shadow is all one, the sky  throbs now along with the ocean,  and sky and shadow erupt  in the crash of their vast conflict.

From The Daily Beast

But when he goes over a line that it is ambiguously drawn, then we erupt with outrage.

From The Daily Beast

The very mention of his part in Spice World causes the Brit to erupt in a violent fit of laughter.

From The Daily Beast

Underneath our feet tectonic plates shift, magma bubbles, water boils, and both regularly erupt.

From The Daily Beast

The financial situation was a seething volcano which might erupt at any minute.

From Project Gutenberg

However, Mun's temper was an abstract affair that might erupt at any moment, while a broken leg was distinctly concrete.

From Project Gutenberg

For Nau-hau, in sullen volcanic rage, was ripe to erupt at the slightest opportunity.

From Project Gutenberg

Adair can't have altered so radically over night; he wasn't forceful enough to erupt so disastrously.

From Project Gutenberg

Before dawn Hugo woke feeling like a man in the mouth of a volcano that had commenced to erupt.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• appear
• blow up
• break out
• burst
• detonate
• explode
• flare up
• go off
• spew