lighter fluid

noun

1

: the liquid in a lighter (such as a cigarette lighter) that is its fuel

2

: a liquid accelerant used especially to ignite charcoal briquettes for grilling food

The average back-yard chef, wishing to cook hamburgers, tries to ignite the charcoal via the Squirt, Light and Wait Method, wherein you squirt lighter fluid on a pile of briquettes, light the pile, then wait until they have turned a uniform grey.

—Dave Barry

Examples of lighter fluid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The bodies of the four teenagers were discovered the next morning when firefighters were called to put out a fire that had been set with lighter fluid. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025

Detectives on the scene found smoke detectors without batteries, open and apparently used bottle of lighter fluid, as well as mail and prescription medication allegedly belonging to Brown, according to Johnson. —Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025

Racial issues are central to the novel, making Opal’s onstage self-assuredness a feast for her fans, lighter fluid to her haters. —Lauren Morrow september 9, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2025

Inside the building, law enforcement found blood near a broken window and a lighter fluid bottle near an undetonated Molotov cocktail, according to the DOJ. —Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lighter fluid

• druid