What does flamethrower mean?
A flamethrower is a weapon designed to project a stream of burning fuel — typically thickened gasoline — across a considerable distance, igniting whatever it touches. Developed in the early twentieth century and used extensively in both World Wars, flamethrowers were valued for flushing enemies out of trenches, bunkers, and caves, where conventional weapons were ineffective. The word derives from the combination of 'flame' and 'thrower', literally a device that throws fire. Beyond its military origins, the term is sometimes applied informally to industrial or agricultural torches that emit a directed flame, such as those used to burn off weeds. Culturally, the flamethrower has become an enduring symbol of destructive firepower in films, video games, and literature, and its name is occasionally invoked metaphorically to describe incendiary speech or escalating conflict. Because of the devastation it causes, the weapon itself is now restricted or banned under various international conventions.
nounA weapon that projects a long, controllable stream of fire, typically fueled by pressurized inflammable liquid such as thickened gasoline; the term is also applied more loosely to any device that ejects flame in this manner.
- A military weapon that projects a stream of burning fuel, used especially in twentieth-century warfare to clear fortifications and bunkers.
- (Extended use) Any device or mechanism that shoots out flame in a directed stream, including agricultural, industrial, or novelty weed-burning torches sometimes colloquially called flamethrowers.
"The soldiers advanced behind a flamethrower operator who cleared the enemy bunkers one by one."
"Marines trained for weeks before being assigned to carry a flamethrower in the Pacific campaign."
"Gardeners sometimes use a propane flamethrower to scorch weeds between paving stones."
Standard pluralization applies; the compound simply adds -s.
"The museum's collection includes several flamethrowers from both world wars."
Despite their terrifying reputation, most WWII flamethrowers had an effective range of barely 20 metres — dangerously close to the target.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of flamethrower
Flamethrower is a compound of 'flame' and 'thrower', formed in English on the model of the German 'Flammenwerfer', the device developed by the German army and introduced during the First World War. The root 'flame' traces back through Old French to Latin 'flamma', meaning blaze or burning fire. Cognates sharing the Latin root include 'inflammable' (from Latin 'inflammare', to set alight) and related words such as 'flammable' and 'deflagrate'.
How flamethrower is actually used
The word carries strongly violent and militarized connotations, so its casual or figurative use (e.g., describing heated rhetoric) is deliberately provocative. In technical contexts, military historians distinguish portable flamethrowers from vehicle-mounted or static models. The spelling 'flame-thrower' with a hyphen appears in older texts but 'flamethrower' is now standard.
Easily confused with flamethrower
A blowtorch is a small handheld tool producing a focused flame for heating or soldering, whereas a flamethrower projects a long stream of burning liquid over a distance as a weapon.