geyser

noun

gey·​ser ˈgī-zər 

British also ˈgē-zə

for sense 1 and usually ˈgē-zə for sense 2

1

: a spring that throws forth intermittent jets of heated water and steam

2

British : an apparatus for heating water rapidly with a gas flame (as for a bath)

Did you know?

A hot spring that discharges intermittent jets of steam and water is called a geyser. Geysers are generally associated with recent volcanic activity. They are produced by the heating of underground waters that have come into contact with, or are very close to, magma. Geyser discharges as high as 1,600 ft (500 m) have been recorded, but 160 ft (50 m) is much more common. Occasionally, a geyser will adopt an extremely regular and predictable pattern of intermittent activity and discharge for a few minutes every hour or so (for example, Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park).

Examples of geyser in a Sentence

The water from the geyser rises as high as 75 feet.

geysers rising as high as 75 feet

The water shot into the sky in an enormous geyser.

Recent Examples on the Web

The seamless experience of core Google Search plus Gemini — paired with the Apple Siri partnership, the profit geyser of YouTube, and fast-growing Google Cloud — adds up to a stock worth owning. —Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2026

Home to geysers, hot springs and diverse wildlife, the park is great for biking, hiking and horseback riding. —Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 27 Mar. 2026

On the plains was a female bison standing vigil through the night, a statue of white from the hydrothermal spray of a nearby geyser falling as frost back toward the earth. —Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 20 Mar. 2026

However, Saturn's moon Enceladus, which is spewing particles into space via its water geysers, does impact the aurora on the ringed planet. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 10 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Icelandic Geysir, hot spring in Iceland, from geysa to rush forth, from Old Norse; akin to Old English gēotan to pour — more at found

First Known Use

1780, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for geyser

• miser
• riser
• sizer
• visor
• wiser
• advertiser
• analyser
• analyzer
• appetizer
• atomizer
• breathalyzer
• colonizer

Kids Definition

geyser

noun

gey·​ser ˈgī-zər 

: a spring that now and then shoots out hot water and steam

Etymology

from Icelandic Geyser "a hot spring in Iceland," from geysa "to rush forth"