tinderbox
noun
tin·der·box
ˈtin-dər-ˌbäks 
1
a
: a metal box for holding tinder and usually a flint and steel for striking a spark
b
: a highly inflammable object or place
2
: a potentially explosive place or situation
Examples of tinderbox in a Sentence
That old house is really a tinderbox.
officials sought to calm the situation, which had grown into a tinderbox
Recent Examples on the Web
In such a dangerous, tinderbox environment, Israel desperately needs both international support and internal cohesion.
—
Max Boot, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
Together, these risks have made South Asia a nuclear tinderbox.
—Nicholas L. Miller, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2019
This Year By Shane Croucher Senior Editor 0 Thanksgiving always falls soon after an election, and in recent years American politics has gained a febrile intensity—making this year's conversation over turkey a potential tinderbox.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024
About two months before the Camp and Woolsey fires, outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018 signed a $1 billion plan to thin forests and clear out the tinderbox of California’s dead and dying trees.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 4 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tinderbox 
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Max Boot, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
Together, these risks have made South Asia a nuclear tinderbox.
—Nicholas L. Miller, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2019
This Year By Shane Croucher Senior Editor 0 Thanksgiving always falls soon after an election, and in recent years American politics has gained a febrile intensity—making this year's conversation over turkey a potential tinderbox.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024
About two months before the Camp and Woolsey fires, outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018 signed a $1 billion plan to thin forests and clear out the tinderbox of California’s dead and dying trees.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 4 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tinderbox
Dictionary Entries Near tinderbox
Cite this Entry
“Tinderbox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tinderbox. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tinderbox
noun
tin·der·box
-ˌbäks
1
: a metal box for holding tinder and usually a flint and steel for striking a spark
2
: something that can easily catch fire
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