# flint

/ˈfɫɪnt/ (US) · /flˈɪnt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/flint
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. the stone

noun · CEFR B2

a hard, grey or black stone that makes a spark when you hit it against steel.

For teachers: a hard, fine-grained variety of quartz that produces sparks when struck against steel due to the friction heating metal particles.

- Early humans used flint to make sharp arrowheads and to start their fires.
- The archaeologist identified several fragments of worked flint, suggesting the site had been used as a tool-making workshop during the Neolithic period.

### 2. lighter component

noun · CEFR B2

the small piece of material in a cigarette lighter that creates a spark to start the flame.

For teachers: a small cylinder of ferrocerium or similar pyrophoric alloy used in mechanical lighters to produce sparks through friction.

- My lighter has run out of gas, or perhaps the flint needs replacing.
- He flicked the wheel of the lighter repeatedly, but the worn flint failed to produce a spark strong enough to ignite the wick.

### 3. hardness of character

noun · CEFR C1 · Literary

a quality of being very hard, cold, or showing no emotion.

For teachers: a figurative reference to extreme hardness, coldness, or lack of emotion in a person's character or expression.

- There was a touch of flint in her eyes when she refused to help him.
- The headmaster's gaze was like flint, offering no sympathy to the students who had been caught breaking the school's strictest rules.

## Examples

- He used a piece of flint to start the campfire.
- Archaeologists discovered several arrowheads made of flint buried deep within the cave floor.
- The survivalist demonstrated how to produce a steady stream of sparks by striking a high-carbon steel striker against the sharp edge of a freshly knapped piece of flint.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.