Definition of "tinder"

tinder

/ˈtɪn.də/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural tinders
1. Small dry sticks and finely-divided fibrous matter etc., used to help light a fire.
  Quotations
  Strike on the Tinder, hoa: / Giue me a Taper: […]
  c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene i], page 311, line 157
verb
third-person singular simple present tinders, present participle tindering, simple past and past participle tindered
1. (transitive) To set fire to; torch.
  Quotations
  Is heaven a murderer when its lightning strikes a would-be murderer in his bed, tindering sheets and skin together?
  1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley