Noun

1. A small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode.

   English Navy squibs set fire to two dozen enemy ships in a Dutch harbor during the 16th century battle against the Spanish Armada.

2. A similar device used to ignite an explosive or launch a rocket, etc.
3. Any small firecracker sold to the general public. Usually available in special clusters designed to explode in series after a single master fuze is lit.
4. A small explosive used to replicate a bullet hitting a surface.
5. A short piece of witty writing; a lampoon.
6. In a legal casebook, a short summary of a legal action placed between more fully cited cases.
7. A short article, often published in journals, that introduces empirical data problematic to linguistic theory or discusses an overlooked theoretical problem. In contrast to a typical linguistic article, a squib need not answer the questions that it poses.
   • 2008, William J. Idsardi, Combinatorics for Metrical Feet, in Biolinguistics Vol 2, No 2

     In this squib I will prove that the number of possible metrical parsings into feet under these assumptions […]

8. An unimportant, paltry, or mean-spirited person.

Usage notes

Verb

1. To make a sound such as a small explosion.

   A Snider squibbed in the jungle.