maar

[ mahr ]

nounGeology.
  1. a circular volcanic landform resulting from explosive ash eruptions.

Origin of maar

1
First recorded in 1820–30, maar is from the German word Maar a depression filled with standing water (especially in the Eifel district)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use maar in a sentence

  • Most maars have low rims composed of a mixture of loose fragments of volcanic rock and rocks torn from the walls of the diatreme.

    Volcanoes | Robert I. Tilling

British Dictionary definitions for maar

maar

/ (mɑː) /


nounplural maars or maare (ˈmɑːrə)
  1. (sometimes capital) a coneless volcanic crater that has been formed by a single explosion

Origin of maar

1
C19: from German

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for maar

maar

[ mär ]


  1. A broad, shallow, generally flat-floored volcanic crater that is often filled with water. Maars usually form from explosive eruptions caused by the heating and boiling of groundwater that is invaded by rising magma.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.