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 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 • Oct. 23, 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

But its actual selling point was evident in an ad the company showed at the end of the presentation: The iPhone X is a very fancy lava lamp.

From Slate • Sep. 12, 2017

“Hey, Joey,” Skeezie says as he turns on Joe’s lava lamp and we settle in on the lime green shag carpet.

From "The Misfits" by James Howe