a secret plan by a group of Roman Catholics to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I in 1605. They put gunpowder (= an explosive powder) in the cellars before the opening of Parliament by the King on 5 November. The plan was discovered before the gunpowder could be exploded, and one of the group, Guy Fawkes, was arrested and forced to give the names of the others. His name has remained the only one most people know, although he was not the leader of the group. Every year, before the opening of Parliament, the cellars are searched in a special ceremony.
➡ note at Bonfire Night .