kindling
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Noun [edit]
kindling (uncountable)
- small pieces of wood and twigs used to start a fire.
- Go and collect some kindling.
- 1907, Robert Chambers, chapter 3, The Younger Set[1]:
- When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped ; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs kneeling on the hearth and heaping kindling on the coals, and her pretty little Alsatian maid beside her, laying a log across the andirons.
Usage notes [edit]
Kindling refers to the second stage of building a fire: tinder is used to light kindling, which then lights the main fire.
Coordinate terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
pieces of wood and twigs used to start a fire
Verb [edit]
kindling
- Present participle of kindle.
- Despite the damp wood, he had no trouble kindling a fire.
