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

That record was set on a cinder track, considered the best surface at the time.

From BBC

With his first homer of the season, he felt like a few cinder blocks were removed from his shoulders.

From Los Angeles Times

“They’re just cinders, Your Highness. You can pretty yourself up later. For now, let’s deal with the boys, okay?”

From Literature

“He broke a rule. It sounded like they were saying that he put cinder blocks in the water at the end of the pier. Why would he do that?”

From Literature

Burning characters to cinders does little but to flatten colonialism into a fiery spectacle.

From Salon

Related Words

• ember
• soot