Vesuvius

American  

[vuh-soo-vee-uhs] / vəˈsu vi əs /

noun

1. Mount, an active volcano in SW Italy, near Naples. Its eruption destroyed the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum a.d. 79. About 3,900 feet (1,190 meters).

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Vesuvius British  

/ vɪˈsuːvɪəs /

noun

1. Italian name: Vesuvio.  a volcano in SW Italy, on the Bay of Naples: first recorded eruption in 79 _ad , which destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae; numerous eruptions since then. Average height: 1220 m (4003 ft)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Vesuvius

Even under the worst kind of duress, they don’t want to flee their homes, their belongings, certainly not their families, despite the threatening burps of Vesuvius.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Vesuvius in AD 79, he wasn’t just horrified, he was mesmerized, even excited; amid all that death it felt like the past was alive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

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

Birth amid the early Industrial Revolution, training with Joshua Reynolds’s teacher, and a budget visit to see Naples and Vesuvius.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026

This building is easily 300 years old, probably more, timber-framed wattle-and-daub plaster like Wythenshawe Hall, and if anyone should drop a match or cigarette the whole place would go up like Vesuvius.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein