tinder

noun

tin·​der ˈtin-dər 

1

: a very flammable substance adaptable for use as kindling

2

: something that serves to incite or inflame

… that rhetoric was ready tinder for revolution.

—Margaret Peters

Examples of tinder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wildfires are flaring across France, the United Kingdom and Germany as an intense European heat wave turns forests and peat bogs tinder-dry, gutting homes and triggering mass evacuations and international air support. — Sylvie Corbet, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026

That is, heavy winter rains and snowfalls that encourage abundant spring growth, only to be dried to tinder by the now-successive heatwaves baking southern Europe and the American Southwest. — John Vaillant, Time, 8 Aug. 2026

Temperatures are set to soar in France and Spain this week as the continent heads into its fourth heat wave of the summer, and there is no rain forecast to relieve the tinder-dry conditions fuelling the fires. — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 28 July 2026

These grasses turn bright green when the rains come, then dry into a bed of tinder in the summer. — Angus Chen, STAT, 22 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English tynder; akin to Old High German zuntra tinder, Old English tendan to kindle

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tinder

• cinder
• hinder
• linder
• winder

Kids Definition

tinder

noun

tin·​der ˈtin-dər 

: a material that burns easily and can be used as kindling