matchstick

See also: match stick

English

Alternative forms

• match stick

Etymology

From match +‎ stick.

Noun

matchstick (plural matchsticks)

1. A small, slender piece of wood or cardboard serving as a component of a match.

   A piece of wood or cardboard becomes a matchstick once the end has been dipped in a sulfurous compound to turn it into a complete match.

2. (chiefly in the plural) Any similarly small and thin piece.

   The explosion blew the powder shed to matchsticks.

Synonyms

• (generic small thin piece): shred, sliver, splinter

Translations

piece of wood

• Arabic: شَحّاطَة f (šaḥḥāṭa), شَخَّاطَة f (šaḵḵāṭa), كِبْرِيت m (kibrīt), كِبْرِيتَة f (kibrīta), ثِقَاب m (ṯiqāb), عُود ثِقَاب m (ʕūd ṯiqāb), عُود كِبْرِيت m (ʕūd kibrīt) , وَقِيد m (waqīd) (collective), وَقِيدة f (waqīda) (singulative)
• Armenian: լուցկի (hy) (lucʻki)
• Belarusian: запа́лка f (zapálka)
• Bulgarian: кибри́т m (kibrít)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 火柴 (fo² caai⁴ / fo² caai^4-2)

  Hokkien: 番仔火 (zh-min-nan) (hoan-á-hé / hoan-á-hóe)

  Mandarin: 火柴 (zh) (huǒchái)

  Puxian Min: 火挩枝／火捝枝, 火拭枝

• Danish: tændstik (da) c
• Dutch: lucifer (nl) m
• Czech: zápalka (cs) f, sirka (cs) f (colloquial)
• Finnish: tulitikku (fi)
• French: allumette (fr) f
• Georgian: ასანთი (asanti)
• German: Streichholz (de) n, Zündholz (de) n
• Hungarian: gyufaszál (hu)
• Icelandic: eldspýta (is) f
• Irish: cipín (ga) m, cipín solais m, lasán m
• Japanese: マッチ (ja) (matchi)
• Khmer: ឈើគូស (chəə kuuh)
• Korean: 성냥 (ko) (seongnyang)
• Macedonian: кибритче n (kibritče), шкорче n (škorče), чкорче n (čkorče)
• Malayalam: തീപ്പെട്ടി (ml) (tīppeṭṭi)
• Ottoman Turkish: كبریت (kibrit)
• Persian:

  Dari: کِبْرِیت (fa) (kibrīt)

  Iranian Persian: کِبْریت (fa) (kebrit)

• Polish: zapałka (pl) f
• Portuguese: palito de fósforo m
• Russian: спи́чка (ru) f (spíčka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ши̏бица f

  Roman: šȉbica (sh) f

• Slovak: zápalka f
• Slovene: vžigalica (sl) f
• Swahili: kijiti cha kiberiti
• Swedish: tändsticka (sv) c
• Telugu: అగ్గిపుల్ల (te) (aggipulla)
• Turkish: kibrit (tr)
• Ukrainian: сірни́к m (sirnýk)
• Vietnamese: diêm (vi), que diêm (vi)

similar small and thin piece

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