Tinderbox
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Tinderbox is a noun meaning (by extension) A place that is so dry and hot that there is danger of fire.
Meaning
(by extension) A place that is so dry and hot that there is danger of fire.
More Meanings
- (figurative) A potentially dangerous situation.
- (historical) A small container containing flint, steel, and tinder (dry, finely-divided fibrous matter), once used to help kindle a fire.
Example Sentences
Just bring me the old tinderbox that my grandmother forgot the last time she went down there.
Think of your blank journal as a tinderbox, a box for holding combustible materials, ready to catch fire when you sit down to work.
This act was the "match that ignited the great tinderbox of fuel" that had been building for years between many of the countries in Europe.
And then came the night that made America famous / Was it carelessness or someone's sick idea of a joke? / In the tinderbox trap that we hippies lived in, someone struck a spark
Word Forms
- tinderboxes
- tinder-box
- tinder box
Synonyms for tinderbox
Depending on context, synonyms include powderkeg.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include tinder box, touchbox, firestriker, firelighter, firestarter, kindler.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.