- magma emanating from volcanoes and other vents
- any extrusive igneous rock formed by the cooling and solidification of molten lava
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
la•va /ˈlɑvə, ˈlævə/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Geologythe hot, melted, fluid rock that comes out of a volcano.
- Geologythe rock formed when this becomes solid and cools.
la•va
(lä′və, lav′ə),USA pronunciation n.
- Geologythe molten, fluid rock that issues from a volcano or volcanic vent.
- Geologythe rock formed when this solidifies, occurring in many varieties differing greatly in structure and constitution.
- Latin lābēs a sliding down, falling, akin to lābī to slide
- Italian, origin, originally Neapolitan dialect, dialectal: avalanche
- 1740–50
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
lava /ˈlɑːvə/ n
'lava' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
agglomerate
- ash
- bomb
- cinder
- coulee
- crater
- erupt
- eruptive
- fountain
- Giant's Causeway
- Iceland
- igneous
- lahar
- lapillus
- neck
- obsidian
- pipe
- rhyolite
- scoria
- Strombolian
- vent
- volcano
- vulcanian
- zeolite
- aa
- basalt
- block lava
- Craters of the Moon
- ebullition
- ejection
- extravasate
- flow breccia
- hornito
- kipuka
- labrum
- lavation
- lavatory
- malpais
- nuée ardente
- overwhelm
- pahoehoe
- Pele's hair
- pillow lava
- pressure ridge
- river
- torrent
- tumulus
- vanitory
- volcanic cone
- volcanic glass