Phrase guide

spark plug

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

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.)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • In the 21st century, it is not unusual for a set of spark plugs to last a decade or longer; gone are the days when changing the plugs annually was common.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: plug, device, part

2

noun

Meaning 2

Someone who is a driving force in new endeavours.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

  • Helen is a real spark plug. We're lucky she's on the team.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: straw that stirs the drink, catalyst, instigator, mover and shaker, stimulus

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: government, military, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of an internal-combustion engine and ignites the gas by means of an electric spark

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sparking plug, plug

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: electrical device

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

69 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: vonkprop — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Armenian: վառոցքի մոմ (vaṙocʻkʻi mom) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Azerbaijani: alışdırma şamları — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Basque: buxia — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Bulgarian: запалителна свещ (zapalitelna svešt) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Burmese: စပါ့ခ် ပလပ်ဂ် (ca.pahk. pa.lapg) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Catalan: bugia d'encesa — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Catalan: bugia — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Chinese Mandarin: 火花塞 (huǒhuāsāi) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Chinese Mandarin: 火星塞 — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Czech: svíčka — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Danish: tændrør — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Dutch: bougie — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Esperanto: sparkilo — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Estonian: süüteküünal — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Finnish: sytytystulppa — part of an internal combustion engine
  • French: bougie d'allumage — part of an internal combustion engine
  • French: bougie — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Galician: buxía — part of an internal combustion engine
  • German: Zündkerze — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Greek: μπουζί (bouzí) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Greek: αναφλεκτήρας (anaflektíras) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Greek: σπινθηριστής (spinthiristís) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Haitian Creole: bouji — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Hebrew: מצת (matsát) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Hindi: स्पार्क प्लग (spārk plag) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Hungarian: gyújtógyertya — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Icelandic: kveikikerti — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Icelandic: kerti — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Indonesian: busi — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Irish: spréachphlocóid — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Italian: candela di accensione — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Japanese: 点火プラグ (denka puragu) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Japanese: スパークプラグ (supāku puragu) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Javanese: busi — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Khmer: ឆ្នុកផ្លេក (chnokphleek) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Khmer: ប៊ូស៊ី (buusii) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Malay: palam pencucuh — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Mauritian Creole: labouzi — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Mirandese: bela — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tennplugg — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tennplugg — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Pannonian Rusyn: швичка (švička) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Persian: شمع (šam') — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Plautdietsch: Sparkplogg — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Plautdietsch: Fiastopsel — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Polish: świeca zapłonowa — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Portuguese: vela de ignição — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Romanian: bujie — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Serbo-Croatian: свѐћица — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Serbo-Croatian: svjèćica — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Slovak: zapaľovacia sviečka — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Slovene: vžigalna svečka — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Spanish: bujía — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Swedish: tändstift — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Tagalog: buhiya — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Tagalog: pasak-panduop — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Thai: หัวเทียน (hǔua-tiian) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Tigrinya: ቀንዴላ፟ (ḳändella) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Turkish: buji — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Ukrainian: запа́лювальна сві́чка (zapáljuvalʹna svíčka) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Ukrainian: сві́чка запа́лювання (svíčka zapáljuvannja) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Ukrainian: сві́чка (svíčka) — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Vietnamese: bu-gi — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Vietnamese: bougie — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Volapük: bujid — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Volapük: filidakandel — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Welsh: plwg tanio — part of an internal combustion engine
  • Yup'ik: espaak — part of an internal combustion engine