Meaning & use
Roman candle
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A firework in a long tube that shoots out balls of colored fire one after another.
Grammar: Countable noun: lit three Roman candles.
Patterns
- light a Roman candle
- fire a Roman candle
He lit a Roman candle and stepped back as colored sparks shot into the sky.
The Roman candle fired a red ball, then a green one.
Children must never hold a Roman candle in their hands.
nouncountablefigurativeliterary
Something or someone that bursts out with bright, sudden energy, used in a figurative way.
Grammar: Uncommon figurative use, often in descriptions of performances.
The young striker was a Roman candle, brilliant for one season and then gone.
Her speech was a Roman candle of ideas.
Word forms
| plural | Roman candles |
|---|
Common combinations
- light a Roman candle
- We lit a Roman candle at the end of the party.
- Roman candle firework
- A Roman candle firework flew over the garden wall.
- fire a Roman candle
- He fired a Roman candle into the evening sky.
- like a Roman candle
- The idea went off like a Roman candle.
Synonyms and how they differ
- firework
- Firework is the general term, while a Roman candle is one specific tube type that shoots balls of fire.
- sparkler
- A sparkler is held in the hand and only sprays sparks, but a Roman candle launches fireballs.
- rocket
- A rocket firework climbs and bursts high up, while a Roman candle stays fixed and fires in a stream.
Word family
Commonly confused: Roman candle or Catherine wheel?
Roman candle vs Catherine wheel
A Catherine wheel is a firework that spins on a pin, while a Roman candle stays still and shoots fireballs.
Practice
What does a Roman candle do when it is lit?
Choose one answer.
A Roman candle fires colored balls one by one from a tube. Spinning is a Catherine wheel, and rising is a rocket.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Roman candle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.