/ spɑːk; NAmE spɑːrk/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] a very small burning piece of material that is produced by sth that is burning or by hitting two hard substances together :
A shower of sparks flew up the chimney.
2.
[ C ] a small flash of light produced by an electric current :
sparks from a faulty light switch
A spark ignites the fuel in a car engine.
3.
[ C , usually sing. ] spark of sth a small amount of a particular quality or feeling
SYN glimmer :
a spark of hope
4.
[ U , sing. ] a special quality of energy, intelligence or enthusiasm that makes sb very clever, amusing, etc. :
As a writer he seemed to lack creative spark.
5.
[ C ] an action or event that causes sth important to develop, especially trouble or violence :
the sparks of revolution
6.
[ C , usually pl. ] feelings of anger or excitement between people :
Sparks flew at the meeting (= there was a lot of argument) .
•
IDIOMS
see bright adjective
■ verb
1.
[ vn ] spark sth (off) to cause sth to start or develop, especially suddenly :
The proposal would spark a storm of protest around the country.
The riots were sparked off by the arrest of a local leader.
Winds brought down power lines, sparking a fire.
2.
[ v ] to produce small flashes of fire or electricity :
a sparking, crackling fire
( figurative )
The game suddenly sparked to life.
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PHRASAL VERBS
- spark up sth
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English spærca , spearca , of unknown origin.