tinder
Americannoun
-
a highly flammable material or preparation formerly used for catching the spark from a flint and steel struck together for fire or light.
-
any dry substance that readily takes fire from a spark.
noun
-
dry wood or other easily combustible material used for lighting a fire
-
anything inflammatory or dangerous
his speech was tinder to the demonstrators' unrest
Other Word Forms
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:
Explanation
Tinder is one of the things you need to start a fire — it's the extremely dry stuff, like wood or paper, that catches easily and helps get your fire going. To build a campfire, you need both logs and tinder. You might also call tinder kindling. This material is so dry and flammable that it quickly catches on fire and burns long enough to ignite the larger pieces of wood in your fireplace or outdoor fire pit. The word stems from the Old English tynder, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "ignite" or "kindle."
Vocabulary lists containing tinder
Inferno Lingo: Fire Vocabulary
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Unit 1: Telling Details
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Uprising," Vocabulary from the historical novel
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
This tinder caught fire when food prices spiked again in 2010, triggered by a historic Russian drought that wiped out a third of the country’s wheat harvest.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
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
On Wednesday, he defended the ban, which was announced last week, calling the province a "tinder box" that has not seen any rain since June.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2025
I fumbled with the flint and tinder until a spark jumped, and I built a respectable blaze.
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions 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.
