spark
1[ spahrk ]
/ spɑrk /
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.
QUIZZES
WHO SAID IT: A QUIZ ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT AND WISDOM
Think you know your presidents? Take this quiz and see if you can match the style, wit, and ideology of these memorable lines to the right POTUS.
Question 1 of 9
“I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right. I do believe that right makes might and that if I am wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
Origin of spark
1before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English spearca; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German sparke; (v.) Middle English sparken; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German sparken
OTHER WORDS FROM spark
sparkless, adjectivespark·less·ly, adverbsparklike, adjectiveWords nearby spark
sparge, sparid, Sparine, sparing, sparing action, spark, spark arrester, spark chamber, spark coil, sparker, spark erosion
Definition for spark (2 of 3)
spark2
[ spahrk ]
/ spɑrk /
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
21565–75; figurative use of spark1, or <Old Norse sparkr quick, lively
OTHER WORDS FROM spark
sparkish, adjectivespark·ish·ly, adverbspark·ish·ness, nounsparklike, adjectiveDefinition 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. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for spark
British Dictionary definitions for spark (1 of 3)
spark1
/ (spɑːk) /
noun
verb
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, adjectiveWord 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
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.