caldera

C3A1L1D2E1R1A1
UK/kælˈdɛə.ɹə/UK/ˈkɔːl.də.ɹə/US/kælˈdɛɹ.ə/

noun

A large crater formed by collapse of the cone or edifice of a volcano.

OriginSpanish caldera ← Late Latin caldāria ← Latin caldārium →
Less commonScrabble 10
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok
Word of the Day · Jul 25, 2022

Meanings

caldera1

nouncaldera (plural calderas)

plural calderas

  1. geographyA large crater formed by collapse of the cone or edifice of a volcano.

    The lakes of both Rotorua and Taupo occupy calderas left from enormous prehistoric eruptions, and magma lies at shallow depths beneath a number of centres.

    2000, Tony Waltham, “Geyser watching”, in Geology Today, volume 16, Iss. 3, p. 99

Caldera2

proper noun
  1. A city, port, and commune in Copiapó province, Atacama region, northern Chile.
  2. A corregimiento in Boquete district, Chiriquí province, Panama.

Origin

  1. Latincaldārium
  2. Late Latincaldāria“warm bath”
  3. Spanishcaldera“cauldron”
  4. Englishcaldera

Borrowed from Spanish caldera (“cauldron”), from Late Latin caldāria (“warm bath”), from Latin caldārium. Doublet of chowder.

More words from Spanish, Late Latin, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic حُفْرَة بُرْكَانِيَّة, فُوَّهَة
  • حُفْرَة بُرْكَانِيَّةgeology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
  • فُوَّهَة (fuwwaha)geology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Catalan caldera
  • calderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Chinese Mandarin 破火山口
  • 破火山口 (pòhuǒshānkǒu)geology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Czech kaldera
  • kalderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Danish kaldera
  • kalderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Finnish kaldera
  • kalderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
French caldera
  • calderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
German Caldera
  • Calderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Greek καλντέρα
  • καλντέρα (kalntéra)geology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Irish caildéara
  • caildéarageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Italian caldera
  • calderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Japanese カルデラ
  • カルデラ (karudera)geology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Māori tawhā
  • tawhāgeology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Norwegian Bokmål kaldera
  • kalderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Polish kaldera
  • kalderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Portuguese caldeira
  • caldeirageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Russian кальде́ра
  • кальде́ра (kalʹdéra)geology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Slovak kaldera
  • kalderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Spanish caldera
  • calderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
Swedish kaldera, caldera
  • kalderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion
  • calderageology: a large crater formed by a volcanic explosion

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Lacerda
Cite this entry
APA

caldera. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caldera

MLA

“caldera.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caldera. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “caldera,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caldera.

Source: caldera on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.