noun
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a type of firework that throws out showers of sparks
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informal a sparkling gem
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, a juvenile green sea turtle, was released Thursday at Fred Howard Park.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2023
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
In February, it observed an early galaxy, the so-called "Sparkler," that resembled our own Milky Way in its infancy.
From Salon • Jun. 15, 2023
In 2015, Tamblyn released a poetry collection called Dark Sparkler, about the lives and deaths of child actors.
From The Guardian • Jul. 2, 2018
Bar was sorry to miss our good friend Mr Sparkler to-day, Mr Merdle.
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.
