Pronunciation: (skwib), [key]
—n., v., squibbed, squib•bing.
1. a short and witty or sarcastic saying or writing.
2. Journalism.a short news story, often used as a filler.
3. a small firework, consisting of a tube or ball filled with powder, that burns with a hissing noise terminated usually by a slight explosion.
4. a firecracker broken in the middle so that it burns with a hissing noise but does not explode.
5. Australian.a coward.
6. an electric, pyrotechnic device for firing the igniter of a rocket engine, esp. a solid-propellant engine.
7. Obs.a mean or paltry fellow.
1. to write squibs.
2. to shoot a squib.
3. to explode with a small, sharp sound.
4. to move swiftly and irregularly.
a. to be afraid.
b. to flee; escape.
1. to assail in squibs or lampoons.
2. to toss, shoot, or utilize as a squib.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.