lighter fluid

noun

1

: the liquid in a lighter (such as a cigarette lighter) that is its fuel

2

: a liquid accelerant used especially to ignite charcoal briquettes for grilling food

The average back-yard chef, wishing to cook hamburgers, tries to ignite the charcoal via the Squirt, Light and Wait Method, wherein you squirt lighter fluid on a pile of briquettes, light the pile, then wait until they have turned a uniform grey.

—Dave Barry

Examples of lighter fluid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Killed by a gunshot wound to the neck, Greenhalgh had been fatally shot before her cottage was set intentionally ablaze with lighter fluid — to hide evidence, officials said in a search warrant affidavit unsealed in 2018. —Kc Baker, People.com, 16 Oct. 2024

The labels are typically removed with lighter fluid and the bottles resealed and dispensed to other patients. —Scott Zamost, CNBC, 16 Aug. 2024

This may or may not go without saying, but all flammable materials (aerosol cans over 3.4 ounces that hold fuels, gasoline, butane, lighter fluid, certain paints, gas torches, etc.) cannot be flown with on any commercial flight. —Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Sep. 2024

Nothing says a romantic night, in the cheapest way possible, than wine that either tastes like water or lighter fluid. —Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 12 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined at sense 1