noun
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a type of firework that throws out showers of sparks
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informal a sparkling gem
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sparkler
Explanation
A sparkler is a firework that glows and sparks as you hold in you hand. A sparkler burns very slowly, giving you time to wave it around and make patterns in the dark before its flame goes out. Most sparklers are thin pieces of flexible metal that are partly coated with chemicals that burn and sparkle. Though sparklers are often thought of as a fireworks for kids, they burn at a very high temperature and can cause serious burns if they're not used carefully. Sparklers are particularly beautiful when they're lit outside in the dark. While the sparkler's invention is a bit of a mystery, the word sparkler came into use around 1879, from the verb sparkle.
Vocabulary lists containing sparkler
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sparkler was found July 4 suffering from a severe fibropapillomatosis tumor on its left front flipper and minor tumors on both eyes.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2023
Sparkler, a juvenile green sea turtle, was released Thursday at Fred Howard Park.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2023
I would pair a Mulled Wine Sparkler with the Tallegio on the board, offering spiced mulled notes to match the funk of the wash-rind, with a bubbly Prosecco to cleanse the palate.
From Salon • Nov. 18, 2021
In 2015, Tamblyn released a poetry collection called Dark Sparkler, about the lives and deaths of child actors.
From The Guardian • Jul. 2, 2018
However, as Miss Fanny called out with much concern, Was the gentleman hurt, Mr Sparkler rose more restored than might have been expected, and stammered for himself with blushes, 'Not at all so.'
From Little Dorrit by Dickens, Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
