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Fawkes

American

[fawks] / fɔks /

noun

Guy, 1570–1606, English conspirator and leader in the Gunpowder plot of 1605: Guy Fawkes Day is observed on November 5 by the building of effigies and bonfires.

Fawkes British

/ fɔːks /

noun

Guy . 1570–1606, English conspirator, executed for his part in the Gunpowder Plot to blow up King James I and the Houses of Parliament (1605). Effigies of him (guys) are burnt in Britain on Guy Fawkes Day (Nov 5)

"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

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.

A perennial target of assassins, James survived the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes and confederates hoped to blow up Parliament.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

In a chapter on hedgehogs, Rundell writes of how these “delicate, erudite-looking” critters are threatened by something seemingly benign: the popular Guy Fawkes Day bonfires in England.

From Salon • Dec. 31, 2024

While Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot of 1605 dominate the UK's autumnal bonfire tradition, Lewes Bonfire Society also remembers the 17 martyrs burnt to death by Mary I in the town in the 1500s.

From BBC • Nov. 5, 2024

It was first reported by the Guido Fawkes blog that Baroness Jenkin had sent out an invite by WhatsApp for birthday drinks in Dame Eleanor's conference room.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2024

He, Harry, had Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, neither of which would be much good in a duel.

From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023