kindling

noun

kin·​dling ˈkin(d)-liŋ 

ˈkin-lən

: easily combustible material for starting a fire

Examples of kindling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This environment resembled an overgrown forest cluttered with kindling and parched by drought. —Daniel W. Drezner, Foreign Affairs, 21 June 2022

Amazon has a firewood splitter that’s easy to use and creates perfectly sized kindling. —Christopher Murray, Fox News, 6 Sep. 2024

The Street of Life display shows a typical blockade-era apartment, with a stove in the center of a room, windows covered by blankets to save heat and the leftovers of furniture used for kindling. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2024

Charcoal or kindling should do the trick for non-gas grills. —Nicole Villalpando, Austin American-Statesman, 27 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1522, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

kindling

noun

kin·​dling ˈkin-(d)liŋ 

: material that burns easily and is used to start a fire

Medical Definition

kindling

noun

kind·​ling ˈkin-dliŋ 

: the electrophysiological changes that occur in the brain as a result of repeated intermittent exposure to a subthreshold electrical or chemical stimulus (as one causing seizures) so that there develops a usually permanent decrease in the threshold of excitability