flint
part of speech
noun (flint; a flint, flints)
meaning for a pupil
1) A very hard grey or black stone that makes sparks when struck against steel, and breaks into sharp edges. tree →
2) A piece of flint used to light a fire or, long ago, as a tool or arrowhead. tree →
3) A small piece of metal in a lighter that makes the spark. tree →
sense in the lessons
In history lessons on the Stone Age, people made axes, knives and arrowheads from flint, and lit fires with flint and steel. In science (rocks), flint is found in chalk, for example on beaches and cliffs in southern England. In stories, a «heart of flint» means a very hard, unkind heart.
examples
- Stone Age people made tools from flint. tree →
- We found a flint on the chalk beach. tree →
- He struck flint and steel to make a spark. tree →
- The arrowhead was made of sharp flint. tree →
- The museum showed a flint hand axe. tree →
- She had a heart of flint and never forgave anyone. tree →
- The badger heard the flint striking, and asked: tree →
note
Uncountable for the material («made of flint»), countable for pieces («two flints»). Adjective «flinty» (hard, like flint).
In the corpora
- And Joshua made him knives of flint, and circumcised the children of Israel at Gibeath-ha-araloth.
- Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «flint» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.