geothermal

geothermal — adjective

1. relating to heat that is produced naturally deep inside the Earth's surface, esp

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to heat that is produced naturally deep inside the Earth's surface, especially when used as an energy source.

Example

The town uses geothermal energy to heat all its public buildings.

collocation: geothermal energy

Iceland gets most of its electricity from geothermal power stations.

collocation: geothermal power stations

Common collocations
  • geothermal energy
  • geothermal heat
  • geothermal power
  • geothermal plant
  • geothermal source
  • geothermal well
  • geothermal pump
  • geothermal system
Synonyms
  • geothermic

    Much rarer synonym used almost exclusively in academic geology texts — 'geothermal' is the normal choice in everyday and technical writing.

Grammar Patterns

geothermal + noun

Usage Note

Primarily found before nouns referring to energy, power, and heating systems. Less common in everyday speech than related terms such as 'solar' or 'wind', but widely used in discussions of renewable energy.

Common Mistakes

We should install geothermal' (as a noun).
We should install a geothermal heating system.
'geothermal' is an adjective; it must be followed by a noun such as 'energy', 'power', or 'system'.

Word family

  • geothermally
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Geothermal is the most common term for describing heat from the Earth's interior, used in everyday discussions of renewable energy as well as in technical writing. Geothermic is a near-synonym that appears far less often — it is mostly limited to scientific papers about Earth's internal temperature gradients. Volcanic refers specifically to heat from volcanoes or magma near the surface, which is one possible source of geothermal energy but not the only one. Telluric is a much broader term that relates to the Earth as a planet (e.g. telluric currents, telluric planets) and overlaps with geothermal only marginally. In practical use, choose 'geothermal' for energy, heating, and power topics; reserve 'geothermic' for specialised geology contexts.

geothermal ↗geothermicvolcanic ↗telluric

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

GreekEnglish

Geothermal comes from Greek 'geo-' meaning 'earth' and 'therme' meaning 'heat'. The word entered English scientific writing in the mid-1800s as geologists began studying underground heat sources.