volcano
Americannoun
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volcanoes,
plural
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volcanos
plural
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a vent in the earth's crust through which lava, steam, ashes, etc., are expelled, either continuously or at irregular intervals.
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a mountain or hill, usually having a cuplike crater at the summit, formed around such a vent from the ash and lava expelled through it.
noun
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an opening in the earth's crust from which molten lava, rock fragments, ashes, dust, and gases are ejected from below the earth's surface
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a mountain formed from volcanic material ejected from a vent in a central crater
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An opening in the Earth's crust from which lava, ash, and hot gases flow or are ejected during an eruption.
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A usually cone-shaped mountain formed by the materials issuing from such an opening. Volcanoes are usually associated with plate boundaries but can also occur within the interior areas of a tectonic plate. Their shape is directly related to the type of magma that flows from them—the more viscous the magma, the steeper the sides of the volcano.
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◆ A volcano composed of gently sloping sheets of basaltic lava from successive volcanic eruptions is called a shield volcano. The lava flows associated with shield volcanos, such as Mauna Loa, on Hawaii, are very fluid.
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◆ A volcano composed of steep, alternating layers of lava and pyroclastic materials, including ash, is called a stratovolcano. Stratovolcanos are associated with relatively viscous lava and with explosive eruptions. They are the most common form of large continental volcanos. Mount Vesuvius, Mount Fuji, and Mount St. Helens are stratovolcanos.
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Also called composite volcano
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See more at hot spot island arc tectonic boundary volcanic arc
Discover More
Volcanoes tend to occur along the edges of tectonic plates.
Eruptions and lava flows associated with them can be very destructive. (See Mount Saint Helens and Mount Vesuvius.)
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of volcano
1605–15; < Italian < Latin Volcānus, variant of Vulcānus Vulcan
Explanation
When the earth's crust cracks open and spews hot lava and gases, you've got a volcano on your hands. You better run. The noun volcano comes from the name of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. The Romans believed Vulcan had a forge in Mt. Etna, a volcano in Italy. The term can be applied to a vent in a planet's surface or crust. Lava, ash, and gas escape through the vent. The term volcano can also apply to a mountain created by such a vent.
Vocabulary lists containing volcano
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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The United States
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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.
See Examples For:
A series of recent eruptions from Europe's most active volcano have caused local air traffic disruption but have also drawn in many tourists.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The education ministry ordered the suspension of face-to-face classes in communities within two municipalities near the volcano as a precaution.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
To investigate the process, the researchers recreated conditions found inside a volcano using magma collected from the Tajogaite eruption.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
Dramatizations of the several lives studied put figurative flesh on the petrified bodies of the volcano victims, and those who escaped such a fate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The joy, the disbelief, the shock of having lived and having outrun a volcano was still present as if it had been only yesterday.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Turtle said Dragonfly will be looking for signs of earthquakes or volcanoes that might allow hydrocarbons like methane to move between the surface and the ice-covered ocean.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Fuego, one of the most active volcanoes in the Western Hemisphere, started spewing lava and ash on Monday.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
"Ice and liquid water are fundamentally different than lava and the volcanoes that we see here on Earth," he said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Understanding this process could reveal how these volcanoes begin preparing for later periods of activity.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
He’d read about the great volcanoes, the lost city of Pompeii destroyed by fire that poured out of mountains from deep below.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
It is not just storms threatening the region, but earthquakes and volcanos too, points out Peter Levy, boss of Jamaican insurance company BCIC.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
One of the most active volcanos on Earth, Kilauea erupts every 2 to 3 years on average.
From Science Magazine ● May 27, 2024
In addition to lava, volcanos eject large amounts of pumice, ashes and gases as a fast-moving flow, known as "pyroclastic flow," and its sediments are a valuable data source on past eruptions.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 22, 2024
It seemed like an eruption might be imminent … but volcanos are fickle.
From Slate ● Dec. 20, 2023
The hot cakes rose like little hassocks, and small volcanos formed and erupted on them until they were ready to be turned.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
