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    volcano

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    volcano
    vol‧ca‧no /vɒlˈkeɪnəʊ $ vɑːlˈkeɪnoʊ/ 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        extinct volcano (=one that is no longer active at all)
         
    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. | 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 | 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