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
Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
These facilities suck in air and extract carbon using chemicals in a process powered by clean, geothermal energy.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 30 May 2025
Calistoga sits next to the world's largest geothermal field and The Geysers geothermal plant – the largest of its kind in the world – produces about 725 MW (supplying power to roughly 725,000 homes) of clean, renewable energy to Northern California.
—New Atlas, 29 May 2025
When Ravinia Elementary School reopens in the fall following its extensive, $40 million gut rehab, it will be heated and cooled using a relatively unusual technique: a geothermal HVAC system utilizing the region’s massive aquifer hundreds of feet below the surface.
—Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 20 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Geothermal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geothermal. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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geothermal
adjective
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