tinderbox

American

[tin-der-boks] / ˈtɪn dərˌbɒks /

noun

a box for holding tinder, usually fitted with a flint and steel.
a person or thing that is highly excitable, explosive, inflammable, etc.; a potential source of widespread violence.

Berlin was the tinderbox of Europe.

tinderbox British

/ ˈtɪndəˌbɒks /

noun

a box used formerly for holding tinder, esp one fitted with a flint and steel
a person or thing that is particularly touchy or explosive

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tinderbox

First recorded in 1520–30; tinder + box ¹

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.

Economists promised this demographic cohort would deliver a dividend, but in many instances it has turned into a tinderbox as people struggle to find work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 10, 2025

The atmosphere simmered over the opening few holes before becoming a tinderbox on the par-five fourth green.

From BBC • Sep. 27, 2025

Glasgow was known as the tinderbox city at that time, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

From BBC • Nov. 9, 2024

But their countryside retreat is another kind of tinderbox.

From Salon • Aug. 23, 2024

As World War I came to an end, Washington, DC, which was about 75 percent white, was a racial tinderbox, an explosion waiting to happen.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023