cinders

IPA/sˈɪndəz/
KK[sˈɪndɚz]IPA/sˈɪndərz/

cinders — noun

1. small pieces of wood or coal that have stopped burning but can still give off he

1.nounB2
Definition

small pieces of wood or coal that have stopped burning but can still give off heat, often glowing red before they go cold.

Example

Talia raked the glowing cinders out of the fireplace before going to bed.

typical action: rake/sweep cinders from a fire

The campers tossed water onto the cinders to make sure no spark survived.

collocation: pour/toss water onto cinders

Common collocations
  • glowing cinders
  • hot cinders
  • rake the cinders
  • smouldering cinders
Synonyms
  • embers

    often interchangeable with cinders, but embers usually still glow red; cinders may or may not

  • coals

    broader — coals can be unburnt fuel as well as partly burnt pieces

Grammar Patterns

cinders from [fire/fuel source]

Usage Note

Often used in the plural; treat as countable. Distinguish from sense 2 — sense 1 cinders can still be hot or relit, while sense 2 cinders are cold ash left behind.

Common Mistakes

I added some cinders to the fire to start it.
I added some kindling to the fire to start it.
cinders are partly burned pieces, not fresh fuel for starting a fire.

2. the cold, grey fragments left after a fire has gone out — like ash, but in small

2.nounB2
Definition

the cold, grey fragments left after a fire has gone out — like ash, but in small lumps rather than fine powder.

Example

After the warehouse fire, only blackened cinders remained where the storage room used to be.

after a destructive fire, only cinders remain

Élise swept the cinders out of the wood stove and carried them outside in a metal bucket.

collocation: sweep cinders out / carry away cinders

Common collocations
  • reduced to cinders
  • burned to cinders
  • sweep up the cinders
Synonyms
  • ashes

    fine grey powder; cinders are lumpier and may include small charred fragments

  • remains

    general term for what is left after a fire; cinders is specifically the burnt material

Grammar Patterns

reduced/burned to cinders

Usage Note

Frequently appears in the fixed pattern 'reduced/burned to cinders', describing total destruction by fire. Distinguish from sense 1 — sense 2 cinders are cold leftovers, not still-hot fuel.

Common Mistakes

The house was burned to ashes within an hour.
The house was burned to cinders within an hour.
for buildings or large objects, 'to cinders' is the more idiomatic fixed phrase.

Word family

  • cinder
    nounB2
  • cindery
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe what is left of a fire as it burns down, but they pick out different stages. Embers are the small glowing pieces of wood or coal that are still actively producing heat and light — the romantic 'glow of the dying fire' is embers. Cinders overlap with embers but lean toward the partly-burnt, lumpy material that may or may not still be hot; you can rake out cinders and use them later. Coals is the broadest term — it covers unburnt fuel ('a sack of coals'), burning pieces in a fire, and partly-burnt remains. Ashes are what is left when everything has finished burning: fine grey powder. So a learner can picture the timeline as coals (fuel) → embers (glowing) → cinders (partly burnt, cooling) → ashes (cold powder).

cinders ↗embers ↗ashes ↗coals ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cinder block
  • cinder path
  • cinder track

Phrases

  • reduced to cinders
  • burned to cinders
  • glowing cinders
  • hot cinders

Prepositions

  • to (reduced/burned to cinders)
  • from (cinders from the fire)

Etymology

Old EnglishFrench (influence)Latin (influence)English

From Old English 'sinder', meaning the slag or dross left from smelting iron. The spelling shifted to 'cinder' under the influence of unrelated French 'cendre' (ash), which comes from Latin 'cinis'. The two words look like family but are not — modern 'cinder' carries meaning from both roots: the Germanic 'partly-burnt lump' sense and the Romance 'ash' sense.