erupt
/ɪˈrʌpt
/verb
1 [no object] (Of a volcano) become active and eject lava, ash, and gases: Mount Pinatubo began erupting in June...
- Suppose that the mountain erupts, leaving lava around the countryside.
- Steve poked his head out the window and saw that a volcano had erupted and a hot lava flow was headed right towards the hotel!
- The volcanic pile built up above sea level so that lavas began to be erupted subaerially.
Synonyms
emit lava, belch lava, become active, flare up, eject/vent material, explode
1.1Be ejected from an active volcano: hot lava erupted from the crust...
- Possible evidence for this theory concerns the brown ridges that mark the moon's terrain, thought to be caused by instant freezing of liquid water erupting from beneath the ice crust.
- The current lava flows are arms of the larger lava flow that erupted earlier this year on Mother's Day.
- In turn, the melt rises toward the surface and erupts in spectacular volcanoes.
Synonyms
emit, discharge, eject, expel, spew out, belch (out), pour (out), disgorge, give off/out;
gush, spout, spurt, stream, flow, issue
1.2(Of an object) explode with fire and noise: smoke bombs erupted everywhere...
- After spitting a few sparks, it erupted into a burning fire.
- Gay was knocked unconscious by the impact, and a small fire under the wheelwell erupted into a major blaze.
- The floor, walls, and any hapless machine that happened to be nearby erupted into fire and smoke.
2Break out suddenly and dramatically: fierce fighting erupted between the army and guerrillas noise erupted from the drawing room...
- Long-standing grievances over environmental and health issues erupted soon after the downfall of Suharto.
- That may have rankled the Church - but nothing like as ferociously as the gay marriage issue which has since erupted.
- A fresh row has erupted over the thorny issue of a northern bypass for Witham.
Synonyms
break out, flare up, blow up, boil over, start suddenly;
ensue, arise, happen
3Give vent to anger, amusement, etc. in a sudden and noisy way: the soldiers erupted in fits of laughter...
- David coped by continuing to fulfill his sibling caretaking responsibilities at home, while erupting with fits of anger, foul language, and violent outbursts at school.
- I erupted in a sudden fit of laughter that left my eyes and nose streaming.
- His eyes straying over the windows, his breath caught in his throat as a new burst of anger erupted in his veins.
4(Of a spot, rash, or other mark) suddenly appear on the skin: a boil had erupted on her temple...
- What was not explained was that for a couple of days afterwards, spots can erupt and you can feel strange, or more emotional than usual.
- Shadows of pain echoed over his body, from the feeling of a limb being severed, to the feeling of a thousand boil poxes erupting from his skin all at once.
- When the villagers took her body in a boat for the customary sea burial, they noticed that small boils were erupting all over her skin, and tiny filaments were emerging from the boils.
Synonyms
appear, break out, flare up, come to a head, burst forth, make an appearance, pop up, emerge, become visible
4.1(Of the skin) suddenly develop a spot, rash, or mark: his skin erupts with hives...
- Flawless skin suddenly erupts with pimples as one grows up.
- Five college kids head into the great outdoors, only to be stricken with an illness that makes their skin erupt in sores.
- Cara Duncan, from Aberdeen, has been swathed in bandages since she was three months old to stop her skin erupting in painful blisters from an allergy to everyday items.
5(Of a tooth) break through the gums during normal development: the lower incisors had erupted...
- Teeth missing from the normal series may have failed to develop or to erupt or have been lost prematurely.
- When do baby teeth erupt? Not soon enough for most parents, I have found.
- The first teeth to erupt are the incisors which appear at around 6-9 months.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin erupt- 'broken out', from the verb erumpere, from e- (variant of ex-) 'out' + rumpere 'burst out, break'.