geothermal
adjective
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Geothermal comes partly from the Greek thermos, "hot". Most geothermal electricity is provided by power plants situated in areas where there is significant activity of the Earth's great tectonic plates—often the same areas where volcanoes are found. But hot water from deep underground may be used by cities far from volcanoes to heat buildings or sidewalks. And a newer source of geothermal energy relies on a less dramatic kind of heat: Individual homeowners can now install heat pumps that take advantage of the 50°-60° temperature of the soil near the surface to provide heating in cold weather (and air-conditioning in the warm months). These very small-scale geothermal systems may eventually supply more useful energy than the large power plants.
Examples of geothermal in a Sentence
Tik Root, WIRED, 30 Mar. 2024
The upper 10 kilometers of the Earth’s crust contains vast geothermal reserves, essentially awaiting human energy consumption to begin to tap into its unstinting power output—which itself yields no greenhouse gasses.
—IEEE Spectrum, 29 Mar. 2024
The eruptions near Grindavík over the last six months have continued to threaten the town, the Blue Lagoon and the geothermal plant on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
The nearby geothermal spa Blue Lagoon was also evacuated, Olafsson said on social media.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 16 Mar. 2024
Bukele has also sketched plans for a tax-free crypto haven powered by geothermal energy from a volcano.
—Reuters, NBC News, 15 Mar. 2024
Called Hassayampa Masterpiece, the house has geothermal heating and cooling and a backup generator.
—Catherine Reagor, The Arizona Republic, 16 Mar. 2024
The simple old-meets-new adaptive design saw modern-minded mechanics enhance the bones of this 400-year-plus building with secret tunnels to conceal complex geothermal technology.
—Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Mar. 2024
The Texas laboratory previously explored using geothermal power to help natural-gas plants operate more efficiently.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'geothermal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
1875, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near geothermal
Cite this Entry
“Geothermal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geothermal. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
geothermal
adjective
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