flintlock

noun

Definition of flintlocknext
as in musket

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flintlock Smoke billowed from his flintlock and Rhoades didn’t see where the buck ran after the shot. — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 28 Jan. 2026 Modern gun technologies are far, far more deadly than the one-shot flintlocks of the 18th century—shouldn’t that matter? — Robert J. Spitzer, Time, 6 June 2023 See All Example Sentences for flintlock
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flintlock
  1. musket
  2. matchlock
  3. shotgun
  4. blunderbuss
  5. smoothbore
  6. harquebus
  7. culverin
  8. firearm
Noun
  • The ink came from the buds of oak leaves, swollen to the size of musket balls by the eggs of wasps.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The alleged texts between the boys, who attended Switzerland Point Middle School, contained information about building a shotgun and musket, as well as obtaining zip ties, per the arrest report.
    — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of musket
Noun
  • The Ottomans deployed field artillery and Janissary infantry armed with matchlocks in a defensive formation called tabur jangi, in which carts and wagons were used to build barricades on the battlefield.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
  • The birth of ‘gunpowder warfare’ can be traced back to the 15th century and the invention of the matchlock gun, the first mechanical firing device.
    — Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026
Definition of matchlock
Noun
  • Mahomes took a shotgun snap, rolled right to evade pressure and then desperately fired incomplete.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The shotgun snap bounced off Tre Harris as the receiver motioned across the formation.
    — Mike Sando, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of shotgun
Noun
  • Trump would also stop treating the Europeans as enemies with his blunderbuss tariffs.
    — Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Cost cutting ‘blunderbuss’ DOGE is part of a long line of presidential efforts to take an ax to the administrative state.
    — Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
Definition of blunderbuss
Noun
  • China Arms reported that the Type 99B retains the Type 99 family’s 125 mm smoothbore gun, autoloader and three-person crew configuration.
    — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 20 Sep. 2026
  • At least three states — Hawaii, Ohio and North Dakota — treat a smoothbore musket the same as an AK-47 or AR-15.
    — Allen G. Breed, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Definition of smoothbore
Noun
  • To put that in perspective, when Beretta started making arquebus barrels, Michelangelo was still working in Rome.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Definition of harquebus
Noun
  • Researchers recently found medieval cannonballs from culverins, an early form of cannon, that were most likely used by Vlad the Impaler, during his bloody battle in 1461 with the Ottoman Turks.
    — Fox News, Fox News, 5 Aug. 2019
Definition of culverin
Noun
  • Jurors did convict Martin and Payton of being felons in possession of firearms and found allegations of prior felony convictions to be true.
    — Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Former police colonel Christiaan Prinsloo was convicted in 2016 after stealing more than 2,000 firearms from police stores and selling them on, including to gangs.
    — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of firearm

Browse Nearby Words

flings (off or away)
flintlock
flintlocks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flintlock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flintlock. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on flintlock

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about flintlock

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of regimen

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All