[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/flinders/)

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# flinders

noun (plural, old-fashioned); proper name (Flinders)

«flinders» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Small broken pieces or splinters, as in «smashed to flinders». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flinders/#m1)
2. (a name) Matthew Flinders, an English navigator who sailed round Australia in 1801–1803; many places are named after him, such as the Flinders Ranges and Flinders Street in Melbourne. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flinders/#m2)

### In the lessons

The phrase «in flinders» or «to flinders» is an old way of saying smashed to bits; it appears in older stories about wrecks and crashes. In Australian geography and history, Flinders is a famous name.

### Examples

- The boat hit the rocks and was smashed to flinders. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flinders/#x1)
- The old chair broke into flinders. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flinders/#x2)
- Matthew Flinders was the first to sail all the way round Australia. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flinders/#x3)
- We went walking in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flinders/#x4)
- The car crash left the cart in flinders. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flinders/#x5)
- Flinders Street Station is in the centre of Melbourne. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flinders/#x6)

### Note

Old-fashioned; today people say «smithereens» or «splinters». Used in the plural only («to flinders»). As a name, it takes a capital F.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «flinders» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flinders/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«flinders» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/flinders.html) on Mova free.