cinder

[ sin-der ]

noun

1. a partially or mostly burned piece of coal, wood, etc.
2. cinders,
   1. any residue of combustion; ashes.
   2. Geology. coarse scoriae erupted by volcanoes.
3. a live, flameless coal; ember.
4. Metallurgy.
   1. slag ¹( def 1 ).
   2. a mixture of ashes and slag.

verb (used with object)

1. to spread cinders on:

   The highway department salted and cindered the icy roads.

2. Archaic. to reduce to cinders.

verb (used without object)

1. to spread cinders on a surface, as a road or sidewalk:

   My neighbor began cindering as soon as the first snowflake fell.

cinder

/ ˈsɪndə /

noun

1. a piece of incombustible material left after the combustion of coal, coke, etc; clinker
2. a piece of charred material that burns without flames; ember
3. Also calledsinter any solid waste from smelting or refining
4. plural fragments of volcanic lava; scoriae

verb

1. rare.
   tr to burn to cinders

Derived Forms

• ˈcindery, adjective

Other Words From

• cinder·y cinder·ous adjective
• cinder·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cinder¹

before 900; Middle English synder, Old English sinder slag; cognate with German Sinter, Old Norse sindr; c- (for s- ) < French cendre ashes

Word History and Origins

Origin of cinder¹

Old English sinder; related to Old Norse sindr, Old High German sintar, Old Slavonic sedra stalactite

Idioms and Phrases

see burned to a cinder .

Example Sentences

Once you’ve done that, he recommends placing the bird skin-side down on the grill over low-medium heat and laying something heavy—a brick or cinder block or cast iron pan—on top.

From Outside Online

External hard drives have long been associated with large brick-like monsters that weigh down the corners of your workspace like cinder blocks.

From Popular-Science

He and his wife and children shared a cinder-block house with a roof made of sheet metal and a dirt floor.

From The Daily Beast

Today, one in five Cariocas, as Rio residents are known, live in shantytowns, piled high with raw brick and cinder-block homes.

From The Daily Beast

The three of them shared a cinder-block shack on the beach in Puerto Rico.

From The Daily Beast

The story opens with an appearance from the Brothers Grimm, asking an elderly woman to verify the story of a cinder girl.

From The Daily Beast

At that moment, three or four shots rang out almost simultaneously, echoing throughout the cinder block building.

From The Daily Beast

Doe grow on trees, or sea to shoore of sandie cinder heaues.

From Project Gutenberg

An increase in local construction has resulted in an increase in the production of cinder blocks and other building materials.

From Project Gutenberg

A cinder stung her face, and when she lifted her hand to the spot, she saw that her glove was black with grime.

From Project Gutenberg

They says his voice is like thunder, an' lightnin' shoots fr'm his eyes that wud shrivel th' likes iv ye an' me to a cinder.'

From Project Gutenberg

One of these was a rather firm, crisp cinder, and had been a blue-print of a drawing.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ember
• soot