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 torch also broke and the lighter fluid was splattered all over the living room. —Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 19 Mar. 2025

First off, there's an Automatic Fire Starter that can light your coals on fire with just the push of a button – no lighter fluid required. —New Atlas, 4 Feb. 2025

Hours before the carjacking, Torres-Garcia and Ocasio Justiniano were seen on video surveillance at a Seminole County gas station buying lighter fluid. —Martin E. Comas, Orlando Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2025

Bud Light may not have caused the backlash, but its brief 2023 ad partnership with a trans influencer poured lighter fluid on the right’s simmering resentments. —Allison Morrow, CNN, 25 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lighter fluid

• druid