kitchen match
1
2.7
- noun
- /ˈkɪtʃən mæʧ/
- Archaic
:
cerilla de cocina
- To start the fire in the fireplace, he grabbed a kitchen match and struck it against the rough surface.
- a box of kitchen matches
- wooden kitchen match
- strike a kitchen match
Examples
-
Judah, get the kitchen matches.
Fiction book (1993) -
Weldon slid open a box of kitchen matches, and we each took one, raked it across the striker, and, with the sense that our lives at that moment had changed forever, threw them at Mattie's feet.
Fiction book (1991) -
Kamil had struck a long kitchen match and was holding it out.
Fiction book (1991) -
She hands him the box of kitchen matches.
Fiction book (1990) -
Then he removes a kitchen match from a plastic container and strikes it against the wall.
Fiction book (1999) -
Mitch scratched a kitchen match on the side of a box, picked up the stub, and lit it.
Fiction book (1992) -
Finding a kitchen match, he struck it on the sole of his shoe, lit the cigarette, and inhaled deeply.
Fiction book (1994) -
He used a kitchen match to relight the stub of his cigar.
Fiction book (1992) -
He fished in his shirt pocket for a cigar, lit it with a kitchen match, and blew a cloud of smoke.
Fiction book (1992) -
She struck a kitchen match on the wall to light the stove for dinner.
Synonyms
176
1.0
A small stick with a tip that catches fire when struck
9
1.0
A short thin stick of wood you use to light a fire
A small wooden stick with a tip that lights when you strike it on something rough
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a match used in the kitchen' is directly and compositionally derived from 'kitchen' (room for cooking) + 'match' (a stick that lights). This is a straightforward noun–noun compound with a literal, cross-linguistically common interpretation, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The noun kitchen match comes from a simple picture: a small wooden match kept in the kitchen to 'light' the stove. People kept a box near the stove and struck each match on a rough surface to make a flame, so the name came to mean a match for 'lighting stoves'.