spark

spark¹ [spa:k US spa:rk] n

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1¦(fire)¦

2¦(electricity)¦

3 spark of interest/excitement/anger etc

4¦(cause)¦

5¦(intelligence/energy)¦

6 sparks

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[: Old English; Origin: spearca]

1.) ¦(FIRE)¦

a very small piece of burning material produced by a fire or by hitting or rubbing two hard objects together

▪ sparks from the fire

▪ The scrape of metal on metal sent up a shower of sparks .

2.) ¦(ELECTRICITY)¦

a flash of light caused by electricity passing across a space

▪ electric sparks from a broken wire

3.) spark of interest/excitement/anger etc

a small amount of a feeling or quality

▪ Rachel looked at her and felt a spark of hope.

4.) ¦(CAUSE)¦

a small action or event that causes something to happen, especially trouble or violence

▪ The judge's verdict provided the spark for the riots.

▪ Interest rate cuts were the spark the market needed.

5.) ¦(INTELLIGENCE/ENERGY)¦[U]

a quality of intelligence or energy that makes someone successful or fun to be with

▪ She was tired, and lacked her usual spark.

▪ McKellan's performance gives the play its spark of life (=quality of energy) .

6.) sparks [plural]

anger or angry arguments

▪ The sparks were really flying (=people were arguing angrily) at the meeting!

→bright spark at ↑bright(10)

spark ²

spark² v

1.) [T] also spark sth<=>off

to be the cause of something, especially trouble or violence

= ↑provoke

▪ The police response sparked outrage in the community.

▪ A discarded cigarette sparked a small brush fire.

2.) spark sb's interest/hope/curiosity etc

to make someone feel interested, hopeful etc

▪ topics that spark children's imaginations

3.) [I]

to produce sparks of fire or electricity