Definition of kindling
: easily combustible material for starting a fire
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Recent Examples of kindling from the Web
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In drawing, those imperfect drawings make good kindling.
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Economic and social factors may have contributed to the kindling — but the explosion in the supply of opioids was a flamethrower.
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And its international policies light the kindling of resistance overseas, from Australia to Ghana.
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Hold the kindling in place using a scrap of wood with a roofing nail driven through its end.
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Kaepernick was the perfect kindling for a reactionary bonfire, the first huge political sports story to come along in the Horowitz era.
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In fact, slights are the kindling that once fueled Perez’s PGA Tour career.
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My daughter scatters my kindling and my son manages to hit himself in the eye with a stick.
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Inside her friend’s house, Manes hid in a shower as Irma flung boats through the air, ripped roofs from buildings and made kindling of the island’s trees.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'kindling.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of kindling
circa 1522
KINDLING Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of kindling for English Language Learners
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: dry twigs, pieces of paper, etc., that burn easily and are used to start a fire
KINDLING Defined for Kids
Definition of kindling for Students
: material that burns easily and is used for starting a fire
Medical Dictionary
medical Definition of kindling
: the electrophysiological changes that occur in the brain as a result of repeated intermittent exposure to a subthreshold electrical or chemical stimulus (as one causing seizures) so that there develops a usually permanent decrease in the threshold of excitability
Learn More about kindling
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Spanish Central: Translation of kindling Nglish: Translation of kindling for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of kindling for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
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