kindling

American  

[kind-ling] / ˈkɪnd lɪŋ /

noun

1. material that can be readily ignited, used in starting a fire.

2. the act of one who kindles.

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kindling British  

/ ˈkɪndlɪŋ /

noun

1. material for starting a fire, such as dry wood, straw, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unkindling
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of kindling

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at kindle ¹, -ing ¹

Compare meaning

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

• tinder vs. kindling

Explanation

The small pieces of wood you use to start a fire are called kindling. When you go camping, you can gather kindling, little twigs and branches, to use in a campfire. Kindling helps a fire get going because it's small and dry, easily flammable. Once the kindling is burning, it can ignite the larger pieces of wood in your fire. You can also use this word to mean "the act of lighting," so you could say, "Kindling this fire is so hard after all that rain we had." Kindling comes from the Old Norse root kynda, "to light a fire."

Example Sentences

An ash tree in my yard dropped a limb and reduced my fence to kindling.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026

We matter as much to him as a firestorm cares about kindling.

From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026

Last month, Unesco recognised it as a Creative City of Gastronomy - adding it to a select list of global cities and kindling hopes that it will spotlight Lucknow's sublime food.

From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025

Adding kindling to the social media firestorm, other X users resurfaced previous clips of B. Simone noting that she preferred men who were entrepreneurs over those who worked 9-to-5 jobs.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2025

I had to fire up the stove with a bunch of kindling while Grandma and Mary Alice went to work on the potatoes and onions.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck