Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

Vesuvius

play
geographical name Ve·su·vi·us \ və-ˈsü-vē-əs \
variants: or Italian Vesuvio play \vā-ˈsü-vyō, -ˈzü-\

Definition of Vesuvius

active volcano 4190 feet (1277 meters) high in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Bay of Naples
Note: The eruption of Vesuvius on August 24, 79 a.d. resulted in the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

From the M-W Editors

alt-59c17b8172892
'So Long': A Common But Mysterious Goodbye
stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!
image2143067130
9 Slang Words With Academic Origins
alt-59bab5dbb4997
Trending: 'Bodega' Startup Draws Criticism, Mockery

Learn More about vesuvius

  1. Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Vesuvius

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up Vesuvius? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

holus-bolus

play

all at once

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. bodega "Don’t mess with the beloved bodega."

  2. carceral Of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison

  3. allegory No spoilers!

  4. hurricane 'A tropical cyclone'

  5. rescind To take away; cancel; repeal

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59c17b8172892
'So Long': A Common But Mysterious Goodbye

Its origins are surprisingly murky.

alt-59c13729150dc
"Immune to" or "Immune from"?

Nobody is immune to this question.

alt-59bff395cf879
What's Going On With 'Nonplussed'?

Its recent usage is hard to shrug off.

alt-59bad350d88f1
Welcome to the New Words

From 'hive mind' to 'sriracha'

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

No tricks, just difficult words.

Take the quiz
name-that-color-logo
Name that Color!

NEW! Additional colors! More obscure than before!

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Citation
Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game