From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_348_dvolcanovol‧ca‧no /vɒlˈkeɪnəʊ $ vɑːlˈkeɪnoʊ/ ●○○ noun (plural volcanoes or volcanos) [countable] HEa mountain with a large hole at the top, through which lava (=very hot liquid rock) is sometimes forced out Pompei was destroyed when the volcano erupted in 79 AD.active volcano (=one that may explode at any time)dormant volcano (=one that is not active at the moment)extinct volcano (=one that is no longer active at all)COLLOCATIONSverbsa volcano erupts (=it sends smoke, fire, and rock into the sky)The volcano last erupted 50 years ago.adjectivesactive (=it may erupt at any time)Mount Etna is still an active volcano.dormant (=it has not erupted for a long time)Volcanoes can remain dormant for hundreds of years.extinct (=it does not erupt anymore)The lake is at the foot of an extinct volcano.
Examples from the Corpus
volcano• Unable to see beneath a volcano, researchers can only theorize about what causes the pulsing tremors they hear within it.• He might be tempted to blame these fluctuations on the sun or a volcano.• They had the shattering, overwhelming strength of earthquake and hurricane and volcano.• On the left is a Recent volcano, and on the right the Barrier volcano, with Lake Turkana in the distance.• He spends the night on the volcano, eating beans and tortillas and sleeping in subfreezing temperatures.• Rusty, who has done some research on the island, assures his companions that the volcano is safe.• He is like the Roman sentry who stayed at his post when the volcano erupted and poured lava over him.Origin volcano (1600-1700) Italian vulcano, from Latin Vulcanus “Vulcan” 