Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An obsolete gunlock in which a flint fixed in the hammer produces a spark that ignites the charge.
  • noun A firearm having this type of gunlock.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A gun-lock in which fire is produced by a flint striking the hammer, and igniting the priming in a receptacle called the pan. The match-lock was superseded by the flint-lock, which is now superseded by the percussion-lock.
  • noun A gun, especially a musket, having a flint-lock.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A lock for a gun or pistol, having a flint fixed in the hammer, which on striking the steel ignites the priming.
  • noun A hand firearm fitted with a flintlock; esp., the old-fashioned musket of European and other armies.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an obsolete gunlock that has flint embedded in the hammer; the flint makes a spark that ignites the charge
  • noun a muzzle loader that had a flintlock type of gunlock

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

flint +‎ lock

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Examples

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  • Spock got shot with this in "A Private Little War."

    September 12, 2012