Flinders bar

noun

A vertical soft iron bar placed in a tube typically on the fore side of a compass binnacle, used to counteract the horizontal effect of vertical magnetism induced by the Earth's magnetic field in the steel of a ship, an effect which varies with latitude.

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Meanings

nounFlinders bar (plural Flinders bars)

plural Flinders bars

  1. nauticalA vertical soft iron bar placed in a tube typically on the fore side of a compass binnacle, used to counteract the horizontal effect of vertical magnetism induced by the Earth's magnetic field in the steel of a ship, an effect which varies with latitude.

Origin

Named after the English navigator Matthew Flinders (1774-1814).

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Cite this entry
APA

Flinders bar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Flinders%20bar

MLA

“Flinders bar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Flinders%20bar. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Flinders bar,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Flinders%20bar.

Source: Flinders bar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.