lava lamp

noun

plural lava lamps
: a decorative lamp constructed of a transparent glass container filled with liquid and wax that is heated by an incandescent bulb which melts the wax and causes it to form random moving shapes within the liquid
Lava lamps are back—and not just among retro hipsters lounging on shag rugs and waterbeds.Richard A. Kerr
The lava lamp on my son's bureau gives him a vantage point to ponder the colorful blobs rising and falling as their temperature and density change.Benjamin A. Brooks

Examples of lava lamp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Sinuous vines, mosses and fungi — some looking like luminescent teacups, others like miniature red lava lamps — grew anywhere there was space. Mihir Zaveri, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2024 This setup also included black lights and lava lamps. Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 1 Nov. 2024 The tablet is propped up in a cozy-looking bedroom next to a lava lamp, a mascara tube and a framed portrait of the girl and her dog. Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2024 The modern-day version of the lava lamp Browse the projector’s huge library for something nifty to display by your gaming setup or in your living room. Stack Commerce, Popular Science, 18 Sep. 2024 This cycle kind of looks like a lava lamp in action, and is likely responsible for ejecting vital elements like carbon and nitrogen out into the cosmos. Michael Irving, New Atlas, 12 Sep. 2024 The crowning touch is a giant mosquito with a lava lamp on its thorax; the whole thing is made of a bunch of dumb American junk. Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 10 Sep. 2024 The Bugatti Residence’s twin footprints curve into a single metallic form reaching to the desert sky like a static chrome lava lamp bubble. Nicolas Stecher, Robb Report, 2 Sep. 2024 Like a lava lamp, this rock cools, becomes denser, and sinks in a churning, circular pattern called convection. Byhannah Richter, science.org, 7 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lava lamp was in 1965

Dictionary Entries Near lava lamp

Cite this Entry

“Lava lamp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lava%20lamp. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

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