Definition

Noun 1. A hot fragment of wood or coal that is left from a fire and is glowing or smoldering: An ember is a small, glowing piece of solid fuel that remains after a fire has mostly burned down. It is typically red-hot and can reignite a fire if given air and new fuel.

Usage

The word "ember" is most commonly used in its plural form, "embers," to refer to the collective glowing remains of a dying fire. * It describes the final, hot stage of a fire before it becomes cold ash. * It is often used in contexts involving fireplaces, campfires, or the aftermath of a larger blaze.

Examples

• We sat around the campfire, watching the embers glow in the dark.
• He carefully stirred the embers to keep a little warmth in the hearth.
• Only a few red embers remained from the great bonfire.

Advanced Usage

• Figurative Use: "Ember" can be used metaphorically to describe a small remaining trace of a feeling, memory, or movement that is fading but not completely extinguished.
  • The ember of hope still flickered in her heart.
  • He tried to fan the dying embers of the rebellion.

Variants and Related Words

• Embers (n, plural): The most common form, referring to the glowing remains of a fire.
• Ember-goose (n, archaic): An old or alternative name for a type of diving bird (loon). This is a separate, specific compound term and not a variant of the core word "ember."

Synonyms

• Cinder: A small piece of partly burned coal or wood that has stopped glowing. (A cinder is often considered a cooler, ash-covered stage after an ember.)
• Coal (in context): A glowing piece of carbon, especially from a fire.
• Glowing remnant/fragment: A descriptive phrase for an ember.

Idioms and Phrases

• To rake over the embers (UK) / To rake over the ashes (US): To revive or re-examine an old quarrel, problem, or painful memory that should be left in the past.
  • The interview just raked over the embers of the political scandal.

Noun

1. a hot fragment of wood or coal that is left from a fire and is glowing or smoldering