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Glite Dictionary
to strike flint

to strike flint

8.7
To make a small spark by hitting a piece of flint to start a fire
  • phrasal verb
  • /straɪk flɪnt/
translation icon : hacer chispa
  • To survive the night, she had to strike flint and catch the small spark to light the wood.

Examples

  • Regis, still grumbling, struck flint to steel and soon had the P107 torch blazing.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The campers learned how to strike flint to get a fire started in the wilderness.

  • With practiced hands, he could strike flint quickly to create a spark for the campfire.

Synonyms

to strike a light
vsto strike flint
1 7.0

To make a flame with a match or lighter

creates a spark by hitting a piece of flint rather than a full flame

Antonyms

to douse
20 5.1

To stop a fire or light from burning

How Easy

to strike flint
8.7
to light
905 1.0
to set alight
  • UK
1 4.2
to ignite
66 4.0

Surface Forms

strike flint infinitive
striking flint present participle
strikes flint third person singular
struck flint past
struck flint past participle

Morphology

strike + flint

The phrase is a straightforward, literal combination of 'strike' (to hit) and 'flint' (a stone that produces sparks when struck); the meaning 'produce a spark by hitting a piece of flint' follows directly from the constituents rather than being idiomatic. This compositional action is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words (including flint's spark-producing property) will understand the MWE.

Etymology

Strike flint comes from the real action of hitting a piece of flint against metal to make a spark. People used that spark to light tinder, so strike flint means 'to produce a spark' or 'to start a fire'.