spark plug
noun
Simple meaning
Electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of an internal-combustion engine and ignites the gas using an electric spark.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
spahrkpluhgSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈspɑɹkpˈlʌɡ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of an internal-combustion engine and ignites the gas by means of an electric spark
The part of some internal combustion engines which forms a high-voltage electric spark which ignites the fuel-air mixture to begin the power stroke. (Petrol engines have spark plugs. Diesel engines do not have them because the heat from their high compression ratios supplies the ignition.)
military
A rod (for cylindrical secondaries) or sphere (for spherical secondaries) of fissile material at the center of the secondary of a multistage thermonuclear weapon, which undergoes nuclear fission when compressed to supercriticality by the imploding secondary, helping to raise the secondary to the pressures and temperatures necessary to ignite nuclear fusion in the secondary's fusion fuel.
figuratively
Someone who is a driving force in new endeavours.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of an internal-combustion engine and ignites the gas by means of an electric spark
Used this way, spark plug is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A wrench for removing or tightening spark plugs into the cylinder head of an internal combustion engine.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.