Flintlock

noun

noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An early type of firearm, using a spring-loaded flint to strike sparks into the firing pan.

    "But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window,[…]."

  2. 2
    an obsolete gunlock that has flint embedded in the hammer; the flint makes a spark that ignites the charge wordnet
  3. 3
    A type of lock used on muskets, rifles, and pistols from the early 17th to the mid-19th century.
  4. 4
    a muzzle loader that had a flintlock type of gunlock wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
firelockgunsix shooter

Example

More examples

"But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window,[…]."

Etymology

From flint + lock.

Related phrases

flintlock mechanism

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.