vol ‧ ca ‧ no /vɒlˈkeɪnəʊ $ vɑːlˈkeɪnoʊ/ BrE AmE noun ( plural volcanoes or volcanos ) [countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Italian ; Origin: vulcano , from Latin Vulcanus 'Vulcan' ]
a mountain with a large hole at the top, through which ↑ lava (=very hot liquid rock) is sometimes forced out:
Pompei was destroyed when the volcano erupted in 79 AD.
active volcano (=one that may explode at any time)
dormant volcano (=one that is not active at the moment)
extinct volcano (=one that is no longer active at all)
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ a volcano erupts (=it sends smoke, fire, and rock into the sky)
The volcano last erupted 50 years ago.
■ adjectives
▪ active (=it may erupt at any time)
Mount Etna is still an active volcano.
▪ dormant (=it has not erupted for a long time)
Volcanoes can remain dormant for hundreds of years.
▪ extinct (=it does not erupt any more)
The lake is at the foot of an extinct volcano.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ mountain a very high hill:
the highest mountain in Austria
▪ hill an area of land that is higher than the land around it, which is like a mountain but smaller and usually has a rounded top:
We went for a walk in the hills.
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The house is surrounded by woods, farmland and gentle hills.
▪ Mount ( also Mt written abbreviation ) used in the names of mountains. Don’t say ‘Fuji Mountain’ – say ‘Mount Fuji’ :
Mount Everest
▪ cliff the steep side of an area of land, often next to the sea:
the white cliffs of Dover
▪ precipice especially literary a very steep and dangerous cliff:
They were standing on the edge of a precipice.
▪ crag a high steep rock or mountain:
An eagle sailed over the high crags.
▪ ridge a long narrow area of high ground, especially at the top of a mountain:
I could see a group of climbers high up on a ridge.
▪ knoll a small round hill:
a grassy knoll
▪ volcano a mountain with a large hole at the top, through which ↑ lava (=hot liquid rock) is sometimes forced out:
the eruption of a volcano
▪ summit the very highest point of a mountain:
the summit of Mt Everest
▪ peak especially literary the top of a mountain:
the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas
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a distant peak
▪ range/chain a group of mountains or hills arranged in a line:
the mountain range that is part of the border between Norway and Sweden
▪ foothills a group of smaller hills below a range of high mountains:
the Sierra foothills