flamethrower

noun

flame·​throw·​er ˈflām-ˌthrō-ər How to pronounce flamethrower (audio)
1
: a device that expels from a nozzle a burning stream of liquid or semiliquid fuel under pressure
2
: a pitcher who throws hard : a fastball pitcher

Examples of flamethrower in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Another video shows a person using a makeshift flamethrower on security forces in the southern city of Shiraz. Henry Austin, NBC news, 7 Jan. 2026 When two bumbling thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) attempt to rob his home, Kevin begins an elaborately violent, slapstick battle of wits via booby traps involving a tarantula, paint buckets, and flamethrowers. Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025 Last June, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, allegedly used a flamethrower and threw Molotov cocktails to burn people during a rally for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado. Adam Thompson, CBS News, 15 Dec. 2025 With the flamethrower reportedly set to leave, that fully turns the attention to Williams as a potential successor in the back of the Mets' bullpen. Patrick McAvoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for flamethrower

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of flamethrower was in 1917

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Cite this Entry

“Flamethrower.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flamethrower. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.

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