Mount Vesuvius
CulturalDiscover More
One of its earliest recorded eruptions, in a.d. 79, buried Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae under cinders, ash, and mud.
It is the only active volcano on the mainland of Europe. (Another, Mount Etna, is on the island of Sicily.)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A mechanical artwork first imagined in 1775 to recreate the eruption of Italy's Mount Vesuvius has been brought to life for the first time, 250 years after it was conceived.
From Science Daily ● May 2, 2026
He writes in a wry, amicable style, skillfully layering on his chosen leitmotifs—the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
Pompeii was home to more than 20,000 people before Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, burying - and preserving - much of the city, before its rediscovery in the 16th century.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2025
As early as 1908, the International Olympic Committee wanted Rome as host but shifted to London after Mount Vesuvius erupted, devastating the nearby province of Naples.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2025
Newspapers launched crusades against pestilent alleys and excess smoke and identified the worst offenders in print—among them Burnham’s newly opened Masonic Temple, which the Chicago Tribune likened to Mount Vesuvius.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
