flamethrower

noun

flame·​throw·​er ˈflām-ˌthrō-ər How to pronounce flamethrower (audio)
1
: a device that expels from a nozzle a burning stream of liquid or semiliquid fuel under pressure
2
: a pitcher who throws hard : a fastball pitcher

Examples of flamethrower in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The people inside push the zombies back with exploding gasoline tanks, gunfire, and flamethrowers. Eliana Dockterman, Time, 21 Apr. 2025 That couple of minutes with the flamethrower was actually tense for me! ArsTechnica, 21 Apr. 2025 But in season two, The Last of Us is proof that a zombie story can be even better and more devastating, more nuanced about its moral conundrums and more thoughtful about the aftermath, when no one’s firing up a flamethrower. Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025 Modern British cooking has cemented itself as a fully legible category, with lore and canon, elder gods and young flamethrowers. Amiel Stanek, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for flamethrower

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of flamethrower was in 1917

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Cite this Entry

“Flamethrower.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flamethrower. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

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