lava lamp

[lah-vuh lamp]

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.

lava lamp

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of lava lamp¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Word History and Origins

Origin of lava lamp¹

C20: from the resemblance of the shapes to molten lava in water

Example Sentences

Multiple extraterrestrials appear inspired by a lava lamp.

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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?"

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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.

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

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The trailers, crafted by Pierson and her wife, have their own unique 70s-era decor that includes yellow and orange curtains, bright furniture and color walls including one splattered with orange lava lamp shapes.

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