lava
gb/lˈɑvə/ us/lˈɑvə/
B1
English
~ 9500
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
entity
1
molten rock from a volcano
Very hot, liquid rock that comes out of a volcano onto the ground.
Usage pattern:
lava flows down [a volcano]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse ‘lava’ with ‘magma’. ‘Magma’ is molten rock under the ground, and it is called ‘lava’ only after it comes out of a volcano. Also, ‘lava’ is usually used as an uncountable noun, so we normally say ‘some lava’ or ‘a lot of lava’, not ‘*two lavas’ in general descriptions.
Synonyms
molten rock (More descriptive and technical; clearly states that the rock is in liquid form.)
|
magma (Scientific term for molten rock below the Earth’s surface; becomes lava only when it erupts outside.)
Antonyms
solid rock (Refers to rock in a hard, non-liquid state, the opposite physical state of molten lava.)
Collocations
molten lava
|hot lava
|lava flow
|lava fountain
|lava lake
|lava field
Themes
nature
|science
|geology
Examples
- Streams of bright orange lava poured down the sides of the erupting volcano.
- Scientists monitored the path of the lava as it moved slowly toward the town.
- The helicopter flew low so we could see the red lava bubbling in the crater.
- Villagers were evacuated before the lava reached their homes.
- As the sun set, the glowing lava lit up the dark sky.
Learner examples
- Hot lava came out of the volcano.
- The lava moved slowly down the mountain.
- We watched a video of red lava on TV.
- The lava burned everything in its way.
- Lava is too hot to go near.
Noun
B1
entity
2
rock formed from cooled lava
Hard, black or dark rock that was once hot lava but has cooled and become solid.
Usage pattern:
walk on [cooled] lava
Common mistake:
Learners may think ‘lava’ always means hot, liquid rock. It can also mean the hard rock after it cools, especially in phrases like ‘lava rock’, ‘lava field’, or ‘old lava’. Context and adjectives such as ‘hot’ or ‘cooled’ help show which meaning is intended.
Synonyms
lava rock (Informal everyday term that clearly refers to the solid rock formed from cooled lava.)
|
basalt (A specific common type of dark volcanic rock; more technical and not all cooled lava is basalt.)
Antonyms
molten lava (Describes the same material in its hot, liquid state, which is the opposite of cooled, solid lava rock.)
Collocations
cooled lava
|solidified lava
|lava rock
|lava field
|lava plateaus
|lava formations
Themes
nature
|science
|geology
Examples
- The hiking trail crosses an old field of dark lava.
- Farmers grow grapes in soil made from broken lava.
- We climbed over sharp blocks of black lava near the coast.
- The island is covered in ancient lava from eruptions thousands of years ago.
- Decorative lava rocks were used to line the garden path.
Learner examples
- People walked on the old lava after it became hard.
- The ground was made of black lava rocks.
- Plants grew slowly in the dry lava.
- They used lava stones in the garden.
- We saw strange shapes in the solid lava.
Grammar
Dictionary form
lava
IPA
GB/lˈɑvə/
US/lˈɑvə/
Syllables & stress
lava (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (lava)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: lava
- Plural: lava, lavas
Word family
Expressions
lava flow
1/lˈɑvə flˈoʊ/
fixed phrase
stream of moving molten lava
A long, moving stream of hot, liquid lava coming out of a volcano.
Examples
- The lava flow destroyed several houses near the base of the volcano.
- Scientists mapped the path of the lava flow to predict which areas were at risk.
- Tourists watched the glowing lava flow as it entered the sea.
lava lamp
1/lˈɑvə lˈæmp/
fixed phrase
decorative lamp with moving blobs
A decorative electric lamp with colored liquid inside that forms slow, moving blobs when it gets warm.
Examples
- She turned on her lava lamp and watched the colored blobs rise and fall.
- The teenager’s room was dark except for a purple lava lamp on the desk.
- He bought a lava lamp to give his living room a retro look.