🛡️ A safety screen ⚡ A spark maker

sparker

9.6

A wire mesh that stops small burning pieces from leaving a fireplace or chimney

noun
/ˈspɑrkər/

Archaic

: malla antichispas

The old cabin's fireplace was fitted with a sturdy sparker to keep embers from flying onto the rug.

Examples

He installed a sparker on the chimney to comply with safety codes.
Before lighting the fire, she double-checked that the sparker was securely in place.
The sparker kept the room safe from flying embers.
We installed a new sparker in the fireplace.
Before lighting the fire, she double-checked that the sparker was securely in place.
The old cabin's fireplace was fitted with a sturdy sparker to keep embers from flying onto the rug.
He installed a sparker on the chimney to comply with safety codes.

Synonyms

fireguard

vssparker

1 3.6

A metal screen placed in front of a fireplace to stop sparks or embers from reaching the room

is a mesh designed to stop sparks escaping through stoves or smokestacks

spark arrester

vssparker

Specialized

7.2

A metal mesh fitted on a chimney that stops sparks escaping and reduces fire risk

is a general wire mesh net for fireplaces, stoves, or smokestacks

arrestor

vssparker

Specialized

7.4

A screen that stops sparks from chimneys or exhausts to prevent fires

is the mesh used chiefly on open fireplaces, stoves, and smokestacks

Surface Forms

sparker singular

sparkers plural

Morphology

sparker = spark (opaque) = spark + er

Although the form is analyzable as spark + -er, the meaning 'a spark screen or arrestor' is a specialized sense that is not predictable for most learners from the base word alone.

Etymology

Sparker comes from spark 'small piece of fire' plus the ending -er 'thing that does or makes'. A helpful way to remember this meaning is to think of a metal mesh or guard that holds sparks back from a fireplace or chimney, so it keeps embers from flying out.