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.

   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 called: sinter. any solid waste from smelting or refining

4. (plural) fragments of volcanic lava; scoriae

verb

1. rare,  (tr) to burn to cinders

Other Word Forms

• cindery adjective
• cinderous adjective
• cinderlike 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

They listen to playlists while pulling carts loaded with cinder blocks: yacht rock for mornings, Jock Jam in the afternoon.

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It prompted me to use cinder blocks as a form of sculpture and think about what kind of modern-day ruins we pass by.

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He has stacked some cinder blocks to anchor iron rods for holding up a sheet, which is meant to serve as a roof.

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In key moments, Johnston’s hands seemed like they transformed into cinder blocks.

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People threw rocks or chunks of cinder blocks, lit objects on fire and set off fireworks in the direction of law enforcement, Galvez’s agreement states.

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Related Words

• ember 
• soot