Etymology From Middle French combustible, equivalent to combust + -ible.
1
Capable of burning.
Dumping fertilizer on top of whatever mysterious goop was in the storage tank created a combustible mix which caught fire.
Sin is to the soul like fire to combustible matter.1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
1 more example
The rest were undergoing special underbody cleaning safety checks at TfW depots, after speculation that the cause of the incidents may have been a build-up of engine oil and combustible material such as fallen leaves and general detritus.2023 March 22, “Network News: Class 175s withdrawn for safety checks after fires”, in RAIL, number 979, page 13:
2
Dated, Figuratively Easily kindled or excited; quick; fiery; irascible.
Arnold, however, was a combustible character.1855–1859, Washington Irving, The Life of George Washington:
The world’s richest man has inserted himself in some of the world’s most combustible conflicts.2022 October 26, Cade Metz, Adam Satariano, Chang Che, “How Elon Musk Became a Geopolitical Chaos Agent”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Etymology From Middle French combustible, equivalent to combust + -ible.
1
A material that is capable of burning.
A wheel, wrapt in combustibles, was kindled and rolled down the hill.1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 248:
2
A cigarette or a similar product intended for smoking, as opposed to an electronic cigarette.
Tobacco industry
In total three-quarters of the western Big Tobacco giants' sales last year came from so-called combustibles as vaping sales are plateauing.2025 June 14, “Big Tobacco stock rally reveals smokeless future is still a long way off”, in FT Weekend (Lex. section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 16: