sparkplug
Americanverb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of sparkplug
v. use of spark plug
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.
See Examples For:
Ex-NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg got a lapful of Knicks sparkplug Jose Alvarado, Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing got the biggest Jumbotron cheers of the night, and San Antonio got a critical W.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
They have a sparkplug in Jones, who made all five of her threes and scored a game-high 15 points.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2024
“Once we get Julio going and he’s driving the ball out of the yard like that, I mean that’s a good thing for us because he’s kind of a sparkplug for this team,” Garver said.
From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2024
Since his return Dec. 22, though, Hachimura has been a sparkplug off the bench.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 22, 2023
There were metal objects: hubcaps, a pair of rusty scissors, a sparkplug.
From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo
Most important new tentacle of the British Ministry of Economic Warfare, sparkplugged by lean, dapper Ronald Cross, is a trade agreement with Sweden.
From Time Magazine Archive
They remembered Matthews from 1946, when he sparkplugged a U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
McCormick decentralized the company's management, sparkplugged its $150 million postwar expansion, helped boost profits from $22 million in 1946 to $66,700,000 last year.
From Time Magazine Archive
Little's executive suite is currently occupied by Acting President Ray Stevens, 67, who sparkplugged the company's diversification, was president from 1956 to 1960.
From Time Magazine Archive
The membership promotion consisted of a campaign called the "Vice-president's Campaign" sparkplugged by Mr. Best.
From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the 44th Annual Meeting Rochester, N.Y. August 31 and September 1, 1953 by Northern Nut Growers Association
Since then, thanks largely to her sparkplugging, the Murrays have built an empire of 450 studios piling up an annual gross of $60 million in the U.S. and six foreign countries.
From Time Magazine Archive
But while Naguib dashes to receptions, bussing babies and pumping hands, Nasser labors at GHQ 20 hours a day, making the decisions, sparkplugging the revolutionary council.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
