How to use squib in a sentence
10 example sentences · noun, verb
Squib means a small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode. Example: “English Navy squibs set fire to two dozen enemy ships in a Dutch harbor during the 16th-century battle against the Spanish Armada.”
Examples of squib by meaning
nounA small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode.
- English Navy squibs set fire to two dozen enemy ships in a Dutch harbor during the 16th-century battle against the Spanish Armada.
nounA coward or wimp.
- We're raising a nation of squibs!2021, Joe Brumm, “Pass the Parcel”, in Bluey, season 3, episode 13, spoken by Lucky's Dad (Brad Elliot)
verbTo make a sound like a small explosion.
- A Snider squibbed in the jungle.
verbTo throw squibs; to utter sarcastic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute.
- to squib a little debate
verbTo dodge something difficult, to bottle.
- He squibbed the opportunity to push the claim that Kyoto should remain the flagship for international action - because deep down those on the other side know that the world has moved on beyond Kyoto.2007 September 11, Australia. Parliament. House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).: House of Representatives
More sentences with squib
- It sounds very token, another damp squib which will probably end up benefiting more bureaucrats than artists or scientists.1999 June 30, Fiachra Gibbons, quoting John Calder, “Arts and science ‘damp squib’”, in The Guardian. From the entry token
- But there was also a generous distribution of squibs, crackers, backarappers, sparklers, torches, dwarf-candles, elf-fountains, goblin-barkers and thunder-claps.1954, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, published 2012, page 27. From the entry backarapper
- Thayer’s squib, we would report that Mr.1938, The New Yorker, page 8. From the entry Harrie
- He had three wagonloads of go-devil squibs he wanted to sell, you know, these little oil-well torpedoes, hold about a quart of nitro each?2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 952. From the entry go-devil
- Wade, this is still a partly free country." After firing this little squib off, the perpetrator of it must have felt relieved.1909 August 17, T. O. B., “In and Around Sydney”, in Cootamundra Herald, Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia, retrieved 15 Sep 2016…. From the entry cheeky chappie
Meaning of squib
- noun A small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode.
- noun A similar device used to ignite an explosive or launch a rocket, etc.
- noun A kind of slow match or safety fuse.
Questions about squib in a sentence
- How do you use squib in a sentence?
- Squib is used as a noun and verb. For example: “English Navy squibs set fire to two dozen enemy ships in a Dutch harbor during the 16th-century battle against the Spanish Armada.”
- What is a short sentence with squib?
- “to squib a little debate”
- What does squib mean?
- Squib means a small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: squib (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use squib in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/squib. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.