noun
Uncommon
flint
flihnt
Flint (noun) means a hard, fine-grained rock that produces sparks when struck against steel. Example: “Early humans used flint to make sharp tools and start fires.”
noun
1
A hard, fine-grained rock that produces sparks when struck against steel.
"He used flint to make a fire."
"Early humans used flint to make sharp tools and start fires."
"In a cornfield on one side flakings of flint are numerous."
— Allen Jesse Reynolds, Wilson Straley (1916)
"He struck the flint against the steel to make a bright spark."
"The ploughed field was full of sharp grey flints."
2
A small piece of hard material used in a lighter to create a spark.
"The lighter wouldn't work until we replaced the flint."
"The lighter needs a new flint before it will work again."
"A worn flint makes no spark, so the lighter stays dark."
How to use flint
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA hard stone that sparks when struck, historically used for tools and fire-starting, and still used in some lighters.
Common pairings
flint and steel
flint tool
strike a flint
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Word forms
- Plural
- flints
- Third person singular
- flints
- Past tense
- flinted
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Early humans used _____ to make sharp tools and start fires.
Etymology
From Old English flint, from Proto-Germanic roots meaning "to split" — reflecting how the stone fractures into sharp flakes.
Synonyms
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chert
spark stone
Related words
Rhymes for flint
See all rhymes for flint →Frequently asked questions
What does “flint” mean?
The word “flint” means a hard, fine-grained rock that produces sparks when struck against steel. In plain terms, a hard stone that sparks when struck, historically used for tools and fire-starting, and still used in some lighters.
How do you pronounce “flint”?
“Flint” is pronounced flihnt (/flɪnt/ in IPA).
How do you use “flint” in a sentence?
Here is “flint” used in a sentence: “Early humans used flint to make sharp tools and start fires.”
What part of speech is “flint”?
“Flint” is a noun.
Where does the word “flint” come from?
The word “flint” comes from Old English. From Old English flint, from Proto-Germanic roots meaning "to split" — reflecting how the stone fractures into sharp flakes.
Is “flint” a common word?
“Flint” is an uncommon word in modern English.
How many meanings does “flint” have?
“Flint” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a hard, fine-grained rock that produces sparks when struck against steel.
What is flint used for in a lighter?
In a lighter, flint refers to a small piece of hard material that, when struck or scraped against a rough surface, creates a spark to ignite the fuel. This is a smaller, manufactured application of the same spark-producing property found in natural flint rock.
What is the difference between flint the rock and flint in a lighter?
Flint as a rock is a hard, fine-grained natural stone that produces sparks when struck against steel, historically used for tools and fire-starting. Flint in a lighter is a small manufactured piece of hard material designed to create sparks in the same way, but shaped specifically for that mechanism.
Why does flint produce sparks?
Flint produces sparks because it is extremely hard, so striking it against steel shaves off tiny hot fragments of metal that ignite in the air, creating visible sparks. This property made flint valuable historically for starting fires and firing early flintlock weapons.
