Gunpowder Plot

American  

noun

1. an unsuccessful plot to kill King James I and the assembled Lords and Commons by blowing up Parliament, November 5, 1605, in revenge for the laws against Roman Catholics.

---

Gunpowder Plot British  

noun

1. the unsuccessful conspiracy to blow up James I and Parliament at Westminster on Nov 5, 1605 See also Guy Fawkes Day

---

Example Sentences

A perennial target of assassins, James survived the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes and confederates hoped to blow up Parliament.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 saw a group of English Catholics' - including Guy Fawkes - carry out an unsuccessful attempt to kill King James VI of Scotland and I of England.

From BBC • Nov. 5, 2025

After Guy Fawkes's Gunpowder Plot to blow up British Parliament was foiled in 1605, the government declared November 5 a day to celebrate.

From Salon • Oct. 11, 2021

When Gunpowder Plot supporters sought leniency “for Fawkes’ sake” in November 1605, little did they know it would become a maxim of exasperation for generations to come.

From Washington Post • Dec. 10, 2020

Several Essex men were concerned in the Gunpowder Plot, and in the Civil War of the 17th century the county rendered valuable aid to the parliament.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 7 "Equation" to "Ethics" by Various