geyser

[gahy-zer, -ser, gee-zer]

noun

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

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

verb (used without object)

1. to spew forth as or like a geyser.

   the kettle geysering all over the stove.

geyser

/ ˈɡiːzə, ˈɡaɪzər /

noun

1. a spring that discharges steam and hot water

2. a domestic gas water heater

geyser

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

Other Word Forms

• geyseral adjective
• geyseric adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of geyser¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of geyser¹

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

Example Sentences

A vast canyon of buried garbage has been smoldering inside a landfill in the Santa Clarita Valley, inducing geysers of liquid waste onto the surface and noxious fumes into the air.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One of the most dramatic findings came from Enceladus, a small icy moon where towering geysers shot material into space, creating a faint sub-ring around Saturn made of the ejected debris.

Read more on Science Daily

“When I arrived,” one worker remembered, “a ruptured ground pipe was spraying water like a geyser and had caused a mudslide that covered the stairs.”

Read more on Literature

The optimism catalyzed China’s tech industry, unleashed an even bigger geyser of government support and jolted American competition into overdrive.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Among the most dramatic findings were the towering geysers on the icy moon Enceladus that hurled debris into space and produced a faint sub-ring around the planet.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• gusher 
• hot spring