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 • Nov. 25, 2025

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.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2024

Ms. Beatts said she was hesitant to take the job, believing that television was “just a lava lamp with sound.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 9, 2021

I can decide to get a boa constrictor and a lava lamp if that’s what I want to do.

From Slate • Feb. 22, 2020

Also, a lava lamp and the little table with a snack basket on top.

From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor