spark

Spark
Spark, Mu‧ri‧el /ˈmjʊəriəl/
(1918–2006) a British writer from Scotland, best known for her humorous novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), which was later made into a successful film. Her official title was Dame Muriel Spark.

spark

I

spark¹ /spɑːk $ spɑːrk/ noun1.  FIRE  [countable] a very small piece of burning material produced by a fire or by hitting or rubbing two hard objects together:
    sparks from the fire
    The scrape of metal on metal sent up a shower of sparks.
2.  ELECTRICITY  [countable] a flash of light caused by electricity passing across a space:
    electric sparks from a broken wire
3. spark of interest/excitement/anger etc a small amount of a feeling or quality:
    Rachel looked at her and felt a spark of hope.
4.  CAUSE  [countable] a small action or event that causes something to happen, especially trouble or violence:
    The judge’s verdict provided the spark for the riots.
    Interest rate cuts were the spark the market needed.
5.  INTELLIGENCE/ENERGY  [uncountable] a quality of intelligence or energy that makes someone successful or fun to be with:
    She was tired, and lacked her usual spark.
    McKellen’s performance gives the play its spark of life (=quality of energy).
6. sparks [plural] anger or angry arguments:
    The sparks were really flying (=people were arguing angrily) at the meeting__
⇨ bright spark at bright(10)

II

spark² verb
1. [transitive] (also spark something ↔ off) to be the cause of something, especially trouble or violence
   SYN  provoke:
    The police response sparked outrage in the community.
    A discarded cigarette sparked a small brush fire.
2. spark sb’s interest/hope/curiosity etc to make someone feel interested, hopeful etc:
    topics that spark children’s imaginations
3. [intransitive] to produce sparks of fire or electricity