tinder

American  

[tin-der] / ˈtɪn dər /

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.

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tinder British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• tindery adjective

Etymology

Origin of tinder

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

Compare meaning

How does tinder compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• tinder vs. kindling

Example Sentences

Blankfein added that the long period without a financial crisis cleansing process meant ”you accumulate tinder on the floor of the forest and eventually a spark will come.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

The Cowork plug-ins were like a match on dry tinder.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Neither side is sitting still—and the steps they are taking to shore up their longer-term resilience will likely provide tinder for flare-ups.

From Barron's • Nov. 17, 2025

But a week later, powerful Santa Ana winds arrived, and coupled with single-digit humidity, they turned the landscape into bone-dry tinder ready to burn.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2025

He had told me that if I ran out of tinder, I should burn cloth, and use the charred ashes.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George