Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. vent, volcano(noun)

   a fissure in the earth's crust (or in the surface of some other planet) through which molten lava and gases erupt

2. volcano(noun)

   a mountain formed by volcanic material

Wiktionary(3.80 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. volcano(Noun)

   A vent or fissure on the surface of a planet (usually in a mountainous form) with a magma chamber attached to the mantle of a planet or moon, periodically erupting forth lava and volcanic gases onto the surface.

Origin: From vulcano, from Vulcanus the Roman god of fire and metalworking. Perhaps related to Greek πῦρ and καίειν

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Volcano(noun)

   a mountain or hill, usually more or less conical in form, from which lava, cinders, steam, sulphur gases, and the like, are ejected; -- often popularly called a burning mountain

Origin: [It. volcano, vulcano, fr. L. Vulcanus Vulkan, the god of fire. See Vulkan.]

Freebase(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Volcano

   A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from the magma chamber below the surface. Volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging. A mid-oceanic ridge, for example the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has examples of volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates pulling apart; the Pacific Ring of Fire has examples of volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic plates coming together. By contrast, volcanoes are usually not created where two tectonic plates slide past one another. Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the Earth's crust in the interiors of plates, e.g., in the East African Rift, the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and the Rio Grande Rift in North America. This type of volcanism falls under the umbrella of "Plate hypothesis" volcanism. Volcanism away from plate boundaries has also been explained as mantle plumes. These so-called "hotspots", for example Hawaii, are postulated to arise from upwelling diapirs with magma from the core–mantle boundary, 3,000 km deep in the Earth. Erupting volcanoes can pose many hazards, not only in the immediate vicinity of the eruption. Volcanic ash can be a threat to aircraft, in particular those with jet engines where ash particles can be melted by the high operating temperature; the melted particles then adhere to the turbine blades and alter their shape, disrupting the operation of the turbine. Large eruptions can affect temperature as ash and droplets of sulfuric acid obscure the sun and cool the Earth's lower atmosphere or troposphere; however, they also absorb heat radiated up from the Earth, thereby warming the stratosphere. Historically, so-called volcanic winters have caused catastrophic famines.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Volcano

   vol-kā′no, n. a more or less conical hill or mountain, usually truncated, and communicating with the interior of the earth by a pipe or funnel, through which issue hot vapours and gases, and frequently loose fragmentary materials and streams of molten rock: a form of firework.—adj. Volcan′ic, pertaining to, produced, or affected by a volcano.—adv. Volcan′ically.—n. Volcanisā′tion.—v.t. Vol′canise, to subject to the action of volcanic heat.—ns. Vol′canism, Volcanic′ity, phenomena connected with volcanoes; Vol′canist, a student of volcanic phenomena; Volcan′ity, state of being volcanic; Volcā′noism (rare), violent eruptiveness.—adj. Volcanolog′ical.—n. Volcanol′ogy.—Volcanic rocks, those formed by volcanic agency. [It. volcano—L. Volcanus, Vulcanus, god of fire.]

Editors Contribution(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. volcano

   A type of mountain or rock structure which lava and gas may flow from.

   There are many volcanoes throughout the world, most of them are dormant.

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Volcano in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Volcano in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

1. Mehmet Murat ildan:

   There is a great volcano sleeping in every laziness!

2. Kahlil Gibran:

   Enthusiasm is a volcano on whose top never grows the grass of hesitation.

3. Kahlil Gibran:

   Zeal is a volcano, the peak of which the grass of indecisiveness does not grow.

4. Gabriel Orozco:

   The eruptive column has already cleared away from the volcano and is being taken north by winds.

5. Lewis Ashwal:

   Mauritius is a volcano, a young volcano, there is nothing on Mauritius older than nine million years old.

Images & Illustrations of Volcano