lava

lava — noun

1. the red-hot, melted rock that pours from a volcano during an eruption, or the ha

1.nounA2
Definition

the red-hot, melted rock that pours from a volcano during an eruption, or the hard stone that forms when this material solidifies

Example

Arjun watched the bright orange lava flow slowly down the volcano's side.

lava + flow + down a surface (movement pattern)

The village lay directly in the path of the advancing lava.

the path / flow / stream of + lava (uncountable noun pattern)

Common collocations
  • molten lava
  • liquid lava
  • hot lava
  • lava flow
  • lava lake
  • lava rock
  • lava field
  • lava erupted
  • lava poured
Synonyms
  • magma

    refers to the same material while it is still underground; lava is magma that has reached the surface

Grammar Patterns

lava + verb (flows/pours/erupts)

the/stream/flow/river of + lava

Usage Note

Lava is an uncountable noun, so it does not normally have a plural form. Use 'a stream of lava' or 'a river of lava' to refer to a particular flow.

Common Mistakes

I saw a lava yesterday.
I saw a stream of lava yesterday.
lava is uncountable in standard English; use a unit phrase like 'a river of' or 'a piece of' lava.

Word family

  • laval
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Magma, lava, and ash are all volcanic materials, but they differ in state and location. Magma is the hot liquid rock that exists beneath the Earth's surface, inside the volcano or deeper underground. Lava is what we call that same material once it reaches the surface — it flows or oozes out during an eruption. Ash, by contrast, is not liquid: it consists of tiny fragments of rock, minerals, and volcanic glass that are blasted into the air and fall like dust or snow. So a volcanologist studies magma chambers, measures lava flows, and collects ash samples — each term picks out a different stage or form of the eruption process.

magmalava ↗ash ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • lava flow
  • lava lake
  • lava field
  • lava rock
  • lava tube

Phrases

  • flow of lava
  • eruption of lava

Prepositions

  • river of lava
  • stream of lava
  • path of lava

Etymology

LatinItalianEnglish

Lava comes from Italian 'lava', meaning a stream or a wash — originally from Latin 'lavare' (to wash). The word was first used for molten rock by Italian writers after the 1737 eruption of Mount Vesuvius, describing the glowing streams that 'washed' down the mountain like water.