tinder

[ tin-der ]

noun

1. a highly flammable material or preparation formerly used for catching the spark from a flint and steel struck together for fire or light.
2. any dry substance that readily takes fire from a spark.

tinder

/ ˈtɪndə /

noun

1. dry wood or other easily combustible material used for lighting a fire
2. anything inflammatory or dangerous

   his speech was tinder to the demonstrators' unrest

Derived Forms

• ˈtindery, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tinder¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English tynder; akin to German Zunder, Old Norse tundr, Old English -tendan (as in ātendan to set on fire), Gothic tundnan to catch fire, German -zünden in entzünden to kindle

Word History and Origins

Origin of tinder¹

Old English tynder; related to Old Norse tundr, Old High German zuntara

Example Sentences

For more than 10,000 years, the Lumbee, like many Indigenous peoples, used controlled burns to promote healthy ecosystems and clear brush and tinder.

From Salon

Dahl added that she is particularly concerned about wildfires: "Dry heat like this essentially sucks moisture out of plants and turns them into dry tinder for a wildfire should a spark ignite."

From Salon

After a series of failures, he finally found the right kind of stick to twirl in the right piece of dry wood, and the right kind of tinder to flare with the first flame.

From Literature

The Hezbollah leader took his time to respond to the past month of bloodletting which has turned the Middle East into a tinder box.

From BBC

Elsewhere rapidly growing grass has already died and found a new life as tinder.

From BBC