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

He struck the stone against the rim of his monocle, raining sparks over the hearth kindling—once, twice, three times, until the sparks nestled into the tinder and began to grow into flames.

From Literature

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

The stomach would make a waterskin; the bladder a spare tinder pouch; the Hilts would store nuts.

From Literature

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

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