geyser

[ gahy-zer, -ser gee-zer ]

noun

1. a hot spring that intermittently sends up fountainlike jets of water and steam into the air.
2. British Informal. a hot-water heater, as for a bath.

verb (used without object)

1. to spew forth as or like a geyser:

   the kettle geysering all over the stove.

geyser

/ ˈɡiːzə; ˈɡaɪzər /

noun

1. a spring that discharges steam and hot water
2. a domestic gas water heater

geyser

/ gī′zər /

1. A natural hot spring that regularly ejects a spray of steam and boiling water into the air.

Other Words From

• geyser·al geyser·ic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of geyser¹

1755–65; < Icelandic Geysir name of a hot spring in Iceland, literally, gusher, derivative of geysa to gush

Word History and Origins

Origin of geyser¹

C18: from Icelandic Geysir, from Old Norse geysa to gush

Example Sentences

To his left, he watched a chunk of steel strike a fellow officer above the eye, setting off a geyser of blood.

From ProPublica

One of the most fundamental questions about geysers is why they erupt to certain heights, he adds — and why, for example, Steamboat can shoot water over 100 meters into the air, while Old Faithful’s fountain is perhaps a third as high.

From Science News

A recent reawakening of the tallest geyser in the world is not a harbinger of an imminent volcanic eruption, a new study reports.

From Science News

Bring a thermos of coffee or hot chocolate in case you have to wait for the geyser to erupt.

From Outside Online

Shortly after Taylor’s death, the ground shook a few miles north and a 60-foot geyser blew skyward.

From ProPublica

The oil geyser has shot them to different financial universes, but they still understand each other perfectly.

From The Daily Beast

This prompts Sarah Lynn to stab herself with a Confederate bayonet letter-opener, causing a geyser of blood.

From The Daily Beast

There was a tremendous splash, and a small-sized geyser shot upward.

From Project Gutenberg

The famous geyser shown in the illustration is called “Old Faithful” because of the clock-like regularity of its eruptions.

From Project Gutenberg

She is right, it is petroleum; there are here wells of it, from which it bursts up with great force sometimes, like a geyser.

From Project Gutenberg

Toward the geyser hurried Frank, still looking for his companion.

From Project Gutenberg

Unlike that of the Great Geyser, it is always in ebullition, and its temperature is subject to comparatively slight differences.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• gusher
• hot spring