Meanings
- pluralplural of firework.
- pluralplural onlyAn event or a display where fireworks are set off.
5000 Marrons in Battery, which continue firing to the End of the Fireworks.
1749, A Description of the Machine for the Fireworks, with All Its Ornaments, and a Detail of the Manner in which They are to be Exhibited in St. James's Park, Thursday, April 27, 1749, on Account of the General Peace, Signed at Aix La Chappelle, October 7, 1748. Published by Order of His Majesty's Board of Ordnance, London: Printed by W[illiam] Bowyer [for Gaetano Ruggieri and Gioseppe Sarti], sold by R[obert] Dodsley at Tully's Head in Pall Mall, and M. Cooper in Pater-Noster-Row, and the booksellers in London and Westminster, →OCLC, page 132 more examples
By now, a great many people were walking towards the fireworks but their steps fell so softly and they chatted in such gentle voices there was no more noise than a warm, continual, murmurous humming, the cosy should of shared happiness, and the night filled with a muted, bourgeois yet authentic magic. Above our heads, the fireworks hung dissolving earrings on the night. Soon we lay down in a stubbled field to watch the fireworks.
1974, Angela Carter, “A Souvenir of Japan”, in Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces, London: Quartet Books, →ISBN[T]he fireworks were irretrievably connected with the establishment and political success, and tried to bridge the gap to public favour; just as Water Music helped keep the King's image sweet, so Fireworks Music celebrated the national benefit from the power this generated. […] [T]he fireworks were run as a successful commercial enterprise as well as a symbol of monarchical power. The prudent George [II of Great Britain] would surely have been pleased equally by both.
2005, Christopher Hogwood, “Politics and Power”, in Handel: Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks (Cambridge Music Handbooks), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 77 - figurativelypluralplural onlyA boisterous or violent event or situation.
I left the room after John came home drunk but before the fireworks went off.
2 more examples
Legal fireworks began yesterday in Benin at the pre-hearing of the petition by the People's Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in the September 28, 2016 election in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, challenging the declaration of Mr. Godwin Obaseki of All Progressives Congress, APC, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as winner of the election.
2016 December 2, Simon Ebegbulem, Gabriel Enogholase, “Legal fireworks as Edo gov election tribunal begins hearing”, in Vanguard, Lagos, Nigeria, archived from the original on 08 Dec 2016Bedlam started slow, but fireworks started in the second quarter as Oklahoma State took a 17–10 lead to the break.
2016 December 3, Spenser Davis, “Oklahoma football: Sooners, Cowboys knotted at 17 in de facto Big 12 Championship game”, in The Oklahoma Daily, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2016
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Middle High Germanviurwerc
- Englishfireworks
From fire + work(s). The similarity with Dutch vuurwerk and German Feuerwerk, both “fireworks”, is hardly coincidental. Since the word was apparently first attested in English circa 1575, probably from the Dutch (1540), from the German (sense early 16th c.), from Middle High German viurwerc (14th c. as “fuel, firewood”). A spread from the south northwards is also in line with the fact that the first European fireworks were produced in Italy in the late 14th century.
More words from Middle High German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُفَرْقِعَات, أَلْعَاب نَارِيَّة
- مُفَرْقِعَات (mufarqiʕāt)event or display of fireworks
- أَلْعَاب نَارِيَّة (ʔalʕāb nāriyya)event or display of fireworks
- مُفَرْقِعَات (mufarqiʕāt)plural of firework
- أَلْعَاب نَارِيَّة (ʔalʕāb nāriyya)plural of firework
Basque su artifizial
- su artifizialevent or display of fireworks
Bulgarian фойерве́рк, фойерверк
- фойерве́рк (fojervérk)event or display of fireworks
- фойерверк (fojerverk)plural of firework
Catalan focs artificials
- focs artificialsplural of firework
Chinese Cantonese 煙花 /烟花
- 煙花 /烟花 (jin¹ faa¹)plural of firework
Chinese Mandarin 煙火 /烟火, 花炮
- 煙火 /烟火 (yānhuǒ)event or display of fireworks
- 花炮 (huāpào)plural of firework
- 煙火 /烟火 (yānhuǒ)plural of firework
Czech ohňostroj, ohňostroje
- ohňostrojevent or display of fireworks
- ohňostrojeplural of firework
Danish fyrværkeri
- fyrværkeriplural of firework
Dutch vuurwerk
- vuurwerkplural of firework
Esperanto fajraĵo, artfajraĵo
- fajraĵoplural of firework
- artfajraĵoplural of firework
Finnish ilotulitus, ilotulitus
- ilotulitusevent or display of fireworks
- ilotulitusplural of firework
French feux d'artifice, feux d'artifice
- feux d'artificeevent or display of fireworks
- feux d'artificeplural of firework
German Feuerwerk, Feuerwerk
- Feuerwerkevent or display of fireworks
- Feuerwerkplural of firework
Greek πυροτεχνήματα
- πυροτεχνήματα (pyrotechnímata)plural of firework
Hebrew זִיקּוּקֵי דִּי־נוּר
- זִיקּוּקֵי דִּי־נוּרplural of firework
Hungarian tűzijáték, tűzijáték
- tűzijátékevent or display of fireworks
- tűzijátékplural of firework
Icelandic flugeldar
- flugeldarplural of firework
Indonesian kembang api
- kembang apiplural of firework
Irish tine ealaíne, tinte ealaíne
- tine ealaíneevent or display of fireworks
- tinte ealaíneplural of firework
Italian fuochi d'artificio, fuochi d'artificio
- fuochi d'artificioevent or display of fireworks
- fuochi d'artificioplural of firework
Japanese 花火, 花火
- 花火 (hanabi)event or display of fireworks
- 花火 (hanabi)plural of firework
Korean 불꽃놀이, 불꽃놀이
- 불꽃놀이 (bulkkonnori)event or display of fireworks
- 불꽃놀이 (bulkkonnori)plural of firework
Latvian uguņošana
- uguņošanaplural of firework
Lithuanian fejerverkai
- fejerverkaiplural of firework
Malay bunga api
- bunga apiplural of firework
Māori pahū ahi
- pahū ahiplural of firework
Norwegian Bokmål fyrverkerier
- fyrverkerierplural of firework
Polish sztuczne ognie, fajerwerki
- sztuczne ognieevent or display of fireworks
- fajerwerkiplural of firework
- sztuczne ognieplural of firework
Portuguese queima de fogos, fogos de artifício
- queima de fogosevent or display of fireworks
- fogos de artifícioplural of firework
Romanian foc de artificii
- foc de artificiiplural of firework
Russian фейерве́рк, фейерве́рк
- фейерве́рк (fejjervérk)event or display of fireworks
- фейерве́рк (fejjervérk)plural of firework
- фейерве́рки (fejjervérki)plural of firework
Slovak ohňostroj, ohňostroje
- ohňostrojevent or display of fireworks
- ohňostrojeplural of firework
Spanish fuegos artificiales, fuegos artificiales
- fuegos artificialesevent or display of fireworks
- fuegos artificialesplural of firework
Swedish fyrverkerier
- fyrverkerierplural of firework
Thai ดอกไม้เพลิง, ดอกไม้ไฟ
- ดอกไม้เพลิง (dɔ̀ɔk-máai-pləəng)event or display of fireworks
- ดอกไม้ไฟ (dɔ̀ɔk-máai-fai)event or display of fireworks
- ดอกไม้ไฟ (dɔ̀ɔk-máai-fai)plural of firework
Turkish havai fişek gösterisi, donanma fişekleri
- havai fişek gösterisievent or display of fireworks
- donanma fişekleriplural of firework
Ukrainian феєрве́рк
- феєрве́рк (fejervérk)event or display of fireworks
Vietnamese pháo hoa, pháo bông
- pháo hoaevent or display of fireworks
- pháo bôngevent or display of fireworks
- pháo hoaplural of firework
- pháo bôngplural of firework
Welsh tân gwyllt
- tân gwylltplural of firework
Yiddish פֿײַערווערק
- פֿײַערווערק (fayerverk)plural of firework
Cite this entry
fireworks. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fireworks
“fireworks.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fireworks. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fireworks,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fireworks.
Source: fireworks on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.