lava lamp

American  

[lah-vuh lamp] / ˈlɑ və ˌlæmp /

noun

1. an electric lamp made of a transparent, tapered cylinder containing a liquid in which a colored wax-based or waxlike substance is stimulated by the heat of the light bulb to change into randomly separating shapes that constantly rise and fall.

   Call me an old hippie, but lava lamps belong in rooms with Woodstock posters and beaded curtains, not among the pristine décor of gabled verandas.

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lava lamp British  

noun

1. a decorative type of lamp in which a luminous viscous material moves in constantly changing shapes

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Etymology

Origin of lava lamp

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

This idea describes how hot, dense rock gradually detaches from the base of tectonic plates after continents split, behaving somewhat like blobs rising and falling in a lava lamp.

From Science Daily

Multiple extraterrestrials appear inspired by a lava lamp.

From Los Angeles Times

One senior member of staff joked about the poor quality of the school's sensory room, saying: "We’ve got a doll's head on top of a freezer, a bean bag, and a lava lamp. This is the sensory room?"

From BBC

The tablet is propped up in a cozy-looking bedroom next to a lava lamp, a mascara tube and a framed portrait of the girl and her dog.

From Los Angeles Times

Surely I was in for many nights of taking in the wonder of a rapidly shimmering ectoplasm-green alien lava lamp.

From Slate