sparkplug
[ spahrk-pluhg ]
/ ˈspɑrkˌplʌg /
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verb (used with object), spark·plugged, spark·plug·ging.Informal.
to lead, inspire, or animate something or someone.
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Origin of sparkplug
v. use of spark plug
Words nearby sparkplug
sparkling wine, sparkly, spark off, sparkover, spark photography, sparkplug, Sparks, spark spectrum, spark transmitter, sparky, sparling
Definition for sparkplug (2 of 2)
spark plug
noun
a device designed to fit in each cylinder of a gasoline-powered internal-combustion engine and to produce the electric spark for igniting the mixture of gasoline and air.
Informal. a person who leads, inspires, or animates a group.
Origin of spark plug
First recorded in 1900–05
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for sparkplug
Burns picked up a sparkplug from the office desk as he spoke.
Red Pepper Burns|Grace S. Richmond
British Dictionary definitions for sparkplug
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
Scientific definitions for sparkplug
spark plug
A device in the cylinder head of an internal-combustion engine that ignites the fuel mixture by means of an electric spark. Spark plugs consist of two electrodes that are separated by an insulator except at their tips. When high voltage electricity is fed to one electrode, it jumps across the gap from one tip to the other as a spark. The voltage required to generate a spark is directly proportional to the size of the gap; in a car engine it is about 18,000 volts.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.