From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmatchstickmatch‧stick /ˈmætʃˌstɪk/ noun [countable] 1 TDa wooden match2 → matchstick men/figures
Examples from the Corpus
matchstick• The temporary bridge was first of all submerged then, like a matchstick, it was lifted up and swept aside.• Woolley picked his teeth with a matchstick.• An explosion would have made a mess of them, and matchsticks of that tub.• There being no ink left in the pen, Pooley had pierced the points of his speculation through with defunct matchsticks.• The heads of these children were no larger than the heads of matchsticks.• As there were not enough metre sticks to go round, l gave out matchsticks to represent the fences.• She had a bun of hair at her nape from which stuck out carved hairpins, thinner than split matchsticks.• Place two matchsticks in this gap. 5. 