Definition of "pyrotechnics" [pyr•o•tech•nics]

• The art of manufacturing or setting off fireworks. Also called pyrotechny. (noun)
• A fireworks display. (noun)
• A brilliant display, as of rhetoric or wit, or of virtuosity in the performing arts. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Earlier in the day, he came out, too, facing reporters, saying that the case wasn't about what he called the pyrotechnics that the other camp made."
• "The rage in Trae's eyes was like a silent and contained explosion; the implacable quality of it reduced the hatreds of lesser races like humans, Klingons, or Kzinti, to mere short-term pyrotechnics."
• "Unfortunately, the set is lacking in, shall we say, DVD "pyrotechnics" -- Barbara Hale is still around, as is director Ted Post, and it would be nice to have some series alumni contribute an audio commentary or two to forthcoming volumes."