ember
Americannoun
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embers
plural
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a small live piece of coal, wood, etc., as in a dying fire.
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embers, the smoldering remains of a fire.
noun
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a glowing or smouldering piece of coal or wood, as in a dying fire
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the fading remains of a past emotion
the embers of his love
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ember
before 1000; Middle English eemer, emeri, Old English ǣmerge, ǣmyrie (cognate with Old Norse eimyrja, Old High German eimuria ), equivalent to ǣm- (cognate with Old Norse eimr steam) + -erge, -yrie, akin to Old English ys ( e ) le ember, Latin ūrere to burn
Explanation
An ember is a little piece of wood or coal in a fire that's dying. Embers are hot and glowing. When the fire is out and the embers are glowing, it’s time to call it a night. Embers (usually plural) are smoldering pieces of wood or coal — usually very small — that burn brightly as a fire starts to fade. When you see embers, the fire isn’t finished yet, but it’s almost done. If you’re camping and you put out a fire, don’t leave it alone until the embers go out, too. People also use embers as a metaphor for other things that are starting to fade, like the last embers of a dying friendship.
Vocabulary lists containing ember
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Inferno Lingo: Fire Vocabulary
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Chains
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The ember cast transformed what started as a wildfire into a full-blown urban conflagration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
India Today magazine called the film a "dead ember".
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2025
Some residents in Rainham believe an ember from the fires on Arnolds Field might have started that blaze.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2025
They designed it with the Orange County Fire Authority to be ready for an ember storm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2025
His voice was honey, but his face was a glowing ember.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
Clasby had stayed behind and put out embers landing in trees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
The wind could change the direction and speed of a fire, he added, while burning embers could be carried ahead of the main flames and set fire to new areas.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
It is an ideal fuel for buried embers, which can lie dormant until favourable conditions, such as wind and dry weather, allow them to reignite in broad daylight.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
As the night grows black and the last embers start to dull, “Her Private Hell” sends you off to bed wondering if it could all be true.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
One of the embers landed on the rug in the entryway and set it on fire.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
