firecracker

American  

[fahyuhr-krak-er] / ˈfaɪərˌkræk ər /

noun

1. a paper or cardboard cylinder filled with an explosive and having a fuse, for discharging to make a noise, as during a celebration.

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firecracker British  

/ ˈfaɪəˌkrækə /

noun

1. a small cardboard container filled with explosive powder and lit by a fuse

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adjective

1. impressively energetic

   a firecracker start to the race

Etymology

Origin of firecracker

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30; fire + cracker

Example Sentences

A rare moment of high drama flares when a pregnant woman, Agata, played with firecracker fierceness by Anna Chlumsky, barrels down the basement stairs to accost Renia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

Where McCann is a firecracker, Ava Dash is a total snooze, the kind of monotone, self-obsessed personality that gives Gen Z a bad name.

From Salon • Aug. 2, 2025

Karri Kitchen specialised in healthy Asian-style meals such as Mongolian beef noodles, firecracker chicken and mango chicken curry.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2025

Mallen Kupferer is also a discovery, a firecracker who also conveys more nuanced teenage attitude, her Daisy bossing her repressed dad around, demanding he meet her on her level of explosive emotion.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2024

We children were forbidden to wander this coal shed area ever since the time Mundín and I had set off a firecracker just as the miniature general paraded by with his nursemaids.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez