fireworks
n. C / Un. small objects that explode to create loud noises and bright, colorful patterns in the sky. People use them to celebrate special days like New Year's Eve.
n. explosive devices designed to produce visual and auditory effects for entertainment. Often used figuratively to describe a display of intense emotion or high-level skill.
We watched the fireworks over the lake at midnight.
The city spent thousands of dollars on a professional fireworks display to celebrate the national holiday.
While the pyrotechnic fireworks illuminated the harbor, the political debate inside the hall provided its own metaphorical fireworks as the candidates clashed over economic policy.
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.
Usually plural when referring to a public display; the singular 'firework' refers to an individual explosive unit.