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spark

1
[ spahrk ]
/ spɑrk /
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noun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
to kindle, animate, or stimulate (interest, activity, spirit, etc.): These bright students have sparked her enthusiasm for teaching. The arrival of the piano player really sparked the party.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of spark

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun spark(e), sparc(k), Old English spearca, spærca, sperca; cognate with Middle Dutch sparcke, spercke, Middle Low German sparke; the verb is derivative of the noun

OTHER WORDS FROM spark

sparkless, adjectivespark·less·ly, adverbsparklike, adjective

Other definitions for spark (2 of 3)

spark2
[ spahrk ]
/ spɑrk /
Informal: Older Use.

noun
an elegant or foppish young man.
a beau, lover, or suitor.
a woman of outstanding beauty, charm, or wit.
verb (used with object)
to woo; court.
verb (used without object)
to engage in courtship; woo.

Origin of spark

2
First recorded in 1575–85; figurative use of spark1, or from Old Norse sparkr “quick, lively, brisk”

OTHER WORDS FROM spark

sparkish, adjectivespark·ish·ly, adverbspark·ish·ness, nounsparklike, adjective

Other definitions for spark (3 of 3)

Spark
[ spahrk ]
/ spɑrk /

noun
Muriel (Sarah) (Camberg), 1918–2006, British novelist and writer, born in Scotland.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spark in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spark (1 of 3)

spark1
/ (spɑːk) /

noun
verb
See also spark off, sparks

Word Origin for spark

Old English spearca; related to Middle Low German sparke, Middle Dutch spranke, Lettish spirgsti cinders, Latin spargere to strew

British Dictionary definitions for spark (2 of 3)

spark2
/ (spɑːk) /

noun rare
a fashionable or gallant young man
bright spark British usually ironic a person who appears clever or wittysome bright spark left the papers next to the open window
verb
rare to woo (a person)

Derived forms of spark

sparkish, adjective

Word Origin for spark

C16 (in the sense: beautiful or witty woman): perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse sparkr vivacious

British Dictionary definitions for spark (3 of 3)

Spark
/ (spɑːk) /

noun
Dame Muriel (Sarah). 1918–2006, British novelist and writer; her novels include Memento Mori (1959), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), The Takeover (1976), A Far Cry from Kensington (1988), Symposium (1990), and The Finishing School (2004)
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with spark

spark

see make the sparks fly.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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