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tinder

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tinder¹

  • /ˈtɪn.dəː/ UK
  • [ˈtʰɪn.dəː] UK
  • /ˈtɪn.dɚ/ US
  • [ˈtʰɪ̟n.dɚ] ~ [ˈtʰɪ̟n.dɹ̩] US

Sounds like tender (pin–pen merger) · Rhymes with -ɪndə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English tinder, tunder, tender, tonder, from Old English tynder, from Proto-Germanic *tundrą, *tundrǭ (“tinder”). Compare Saterland Frisian Tunder (“tinder”), Dutch tonder (“tinder”), German Zunder (“tinder”), Swedish tända (“to light, to set on fire”). More at tind.

noun tinders

  1. countable, uncountable Small dry sticks and finely-divided fibrous matter etc., used to help light a fire. Strike on the Tinder, hoa: / Giue me a Taper: […]

verb tinders · tindering · tindered

  1. transitive To set fire to; torch. Is heaven a murderer when its lightning strikes a would-be murderer in his bed, tindering sheets and skin together?

Tinder²

  • /tɪndəː/ UK
  • [tʰɪndəː] UK
  • /tɪndɚ/ US
  • [tʰɪndɚ] ~ [tʰɪndɹ̩] US

Sounds like tinder, tender (pin–pen merger)

proper noun Tinders

  1. A surname.

Tinder³

  • /tɪndəː/ UK
  • [tʰɪndəː] UK
  • /tɪndɚ/ US
  • [tʰɪndɚ] ~ [tʰɪndɹ̩] US

Sounds like tinder, tender (pin–pen merger)

Where it comes from

The application's name is likely derived from the verb tinder (“to set fire to, to torch”), and a play on the various meanings of match (the prototype was called MatchBox).

proper noun

  1. An online dating and geosocial networking application, launched in 2012, in which users "swipe right" to like or "swipe left" to dislike other users' profiles. So sure, she’s a romantic, but quite a pragmatic one. “I was just thinking, ‘You know what? I’ve had shit luck with boys. I’ll try Tinder, Bumble and Love Island.’”

verb Tinders · Tindering · Tindered · tinder

  1. intransitive To use the dating application Tinder. I haven't been Tindering or doing the Plenty of Fish thing in quite some time because I've been seeing Date #2, and he's lovely. […] I'm not Tindering or frequenting POF because my heart still belongs to him, but up pops a message on the Friday night.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: kindling, touchwood, spunk, punk, fire-plough, matchwood, chatwood, kindlewood, firewood, swedish torch, lightwood, fire basket, fireside set, morning sticks, truvat, cinder

Translations

Every language

noun dry sticks etc.

Españolyesca, encendaja, incendaja
Portuguêsgraveto, isca
Françaisamadou
DeutschZunder
Italianoesca
Românăiască
Русскийтрут trut
Tiếng Việtbùi nhùi
العربيةوَرْيَة نَار, رِيَّة riyya, حَرُوق ḥarūq, حُرَاق ḥurāq, صُوفَان ṣūfān

verb to use the dating application Tinder

Deutschtindern

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Cite this
MLA

"tinder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tinder. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tinder. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tinder

Chicago

"tinder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tinder.

BibTeX
@misc{tinder_2026,
  title = {tinder},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tinder},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}