squib
Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).
Synonyms: squab, squit, squid, squiz, quib, squibb, squir
Antonyms: squab, squit, squid, squiz, quib, squibb, squir
Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.
Noun
- {{lb|en|military}} A small [[firework]] that is intended to [[spew]] [[spark]]s rather than explode.
- A similar device used to [[ignite]] an explosive or launch a rocket, etc.
- {{lb|en|mining}} A kind of [[slow match]] or safety fuse.
- {{lb|en|US}} Any small [[firecracker]] sold to the general public, usually in special clusters designed to explode in series after a single master [[fuse]] is lit.
- {{lb|en|firearms}} A [[malfunction]] in which the fired [[projectile]] does not have enough [[force]] behind it to exit the [[barrel]], and thus becomes stuck.
- {{lb|en|automotive}} The heating element used to set off the [[sodium azide]] pellets in a vehicle's airbag.
- {{lb|en|film|theater}} In [[special effect]]s, a small explosive used to [[replicate]] a bullet hitting a surface or a gunshot wound on an actor.
- {{lb|en|dated}} A short piece of [[witty]] writing; a [[lampoon]].
- {{lb|en|dated}} A writer of lampoons.
- {{lb|en|legal}} In a legal [[casebook]], a short summary of a legal action placed between more extensively quoted cases.
- {{lb|en|linguistics}} A short article, often published in journals, that introduces theoretically problematic [[empirical]] data or discusses an overlooked theoretical problem. In contrast to a typical article, a squib need not answer the questions that it poses.
- {{lb|en|archaic|_|except in idioms}} An [[unimportant]], [[paltry]], or [[mean]]-[[spirited]] person.
Verb
- To make a sound like a small [[explosion]].
- {{lb|en|colloquial|dated|ambitransitive}} To throw squibs; to utter [[sarcastic]] or [[severe]] [[reflection]]s; to contend in [[petty]] [[dispute]].
- {{label|en|Australian}} To dodge something difficult, to [[bottle]].
Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.