party popper

British

noun

a small plastic cylinder which, when a string is pulled, makes a small bang and fires thin paper streamers into the air

"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.

Remi Wolf's music bursts out of your speakers like a party popper.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2022

For example, in August the company showed how messaging the phrase “Happy Birthday!” could be set to trigger the party popper emoji to fly up the screen.

From The Verge • Oct. 21, 2021

Well, the excitement is certainly rising here in the office, where we've got at least one party popper - and we're not afraid to use it.

From The Guardian • Dec. 31, 2012

This could be a party popper at a funeral moment.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2010

She’s missing a shoe, and the contents of her purse are scattered around her like the guts of a pulled party popper.

From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone

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