geyser

[ gahy-zer, -ser for 1, 3; gee-zer for 2 ]

/ ˈgaɪ zər, -sər for 1, 3; ˈgi zər for 2 /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR geyser ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a hot spring that intermittently sends up fountainlike jets of water and steam into the air.

British Informal. a hot-water heater, as for a bath.

verb (used without object)

to spew forth as or like a geyser: the kettle geysering all over the stove.

Nearby words

geum, gev, gewgaw, gewürztraminer, gey, geyser, geyser basin, geyserite, gezer, gezira, gf

Origin of geyser

1755–65; < Icelandic Geysir name of a hot spring in Iceland, literally, gusher, derivative of geysa to gush

Related forms

gey·ser·al, gey·ser·ic, adjective

Can be confused

caldera fumarole geyser volcano

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for geyser

This prompts Sarah Lynn to stab herself with a Confederate bayonet letter-opener, causing a geyser of blood.
'BoJack Horseman': The Debauched Tales of a Drunken, Groupie-Sexing D-List Horse, Hits Netflix|Marlow Stern|August 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But there were no geyser baths there and I had no rheumatism then!
Margarita's Soul|Ingraham Lovell
The hot volcanic rocks beneath the earth create steam and give the geyser force.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks|Union Pacific Corporation
An itinerant lecturer upon an unpopular cause has enough hot water without seeking out a geyser.
The Wanderings of a Spiritualist|Arthur Conan Doyle

They let the problem sink in, and the answer is shot up presently, like the cooked pudding in the geyser.
Psychical Miscellanea|J. Arthur Hill
The time she wrote her name upon the geyser will always remain the great event in Maw's life.
Maw's Vacation|Emerson Hough

British Dictionary definitions for geyser

geyser

/ (ˈɡiːzə, US ˈɡaɪzər) /

noun

a spring that discharges steam and hot water

British a domestic gas water heater

Word Origin for geyser

C18: from Icelandic Geysir, from Old Norse geysa to gush

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for geyser

geyser

[ gī′zər ]

A natural hot spring that regularly ejects a spray of steam and boiling water into the air.