FLAT


Meaning of FLAT in English

I. adjective

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a block of flats British English

Three new blocks of flats were built on the land.

a flat cap ( also a cloth cap ) British English (= made of cloth with a stiff piece that sticks out at the front )

We saw an old man in a jacket and a brown flat cap.

a flat plain

Here a group of small hills rises unexpectedly out of the flat plain.

a flat (rate) tax (= a tax that is the same for different people or things )

Corporate taxes are to be abolished and replaced by a flat rate tax.

a flat roof

She used to sunbathe on the flat roof.

a flat screen television

a buyer’s guide to the latest flat screen televisions

a flat tyre (= one which the air has come out of )

I had a flat tyre and had to walk home.

a flat/fixed rate (= one that does not change )

Profits were taxed at a flat rate of 45 percent.

a flat/fixed/set fee (= a fee that is the same in every case )

You pay a flat fee for all the services that are provided.

a flat/outright refusal (= definite and direct )

She had not anticipated a flat refusal.

a joke falls flat (= people don’t find a joke funny )

His practical jokes usually fell flat.

bachelor flat

dead straight/flat

The countryside around here is dead flat all the way to the sea.

flat cap

flat feet

flat on...back

Johnny was lying flat on his back in the middle of the floor.

flat racing

flat shoes (= with no high heel )

Flat shoes are much more comfortable for walking in.

flat (= having a medical condition in which someone’s feet rest flat on the ground, with no curved part )

We’ve both got slightly flat feet.

flat British English , dead American English (= with no more electricity in it )

I'd left the headlights on and the battery was completely flat.

flat

Put the compass on a flat surface.

flat/stony broke (= completely broke )

granny flat

house/flat/room mate (= someone you share a house, room etc with )

Lay...flat

Lay the material flat on the table.

penthouse apartment/flat/suite

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

perfectly

The lower cut must be perfectly flat and angled to match the oblique cut on the rootstock.

You saw a perfectly flat , formless nothing.

Don't be over-concerned if the ground in front of you doesn't seem perfectly flat .

The surface need not be perfectly flat or smooth.

Make sure the lining is lying perfectly flat and smooth against blind fabric and square to it.

I can flood the paper using this frame and be sure that once dry it will return to a perfectly flat surface.

■ NOUN

battery

Read in studio An inquest has been told that a plane crashed because it had a flat battery .

Most mail bombs contain a flat battery , like the type used in watches.

Mr Andrews, of Pyle, Mid-Glamorgan, said yesterday the flat battery meant his daughter arrived five minutes later at hospital.

When we arrived at Selsit, we would exchange the flat battery for a fully charged one and walk back.

He led me to his house and in a few minutes I had diagnosed the trouble - a flat battery .

cap

Seven-six, Rutshire were in the lead - the ground erupted, flat caps were being hurled in the air.

Glancing towards the car park, I am transfixed by the sight of a man in a flat cap cleaning our car.

Newley was wearing a flat cap made of tweed.

He was holding a flat cap full of coins.

He was wearing a flat cap , a suit and a choker, and there were dock gates in the background.

An elderly man in flat cap and going-out clothes was leaning against the fence, stick hanging from a crooked elbow.

fee

One, for the World Resources Institute, compared ten cities that had pay-to-throw schemes with four others that charged flat fees .

Girobank charges a flat fee of £5 per draft and Barclays £9.

You can either pay a flat fee for your access or pay per megabyte of traffic coming down your line.

At present, they pay a flat fee for a license.

foot

I thought your flat feet were firmly on the ground and your grubby little fingers always ready to grab the golden egg.

Carla Sloane was out on the lane, her huge flat feet surrounded by cases, umbrella and bags.

He strutted about the office on his flat feet and smiled too much.

At school they had once heard of some animal which had become extinct because of its huge flat feet .

Fagg fitted in: his eyesight was very poor and he had flat feet .

land

It is sited unusually, on flat land rather than atop one of the encircling hills.

The alternative was to ride along the main highways, which tend to hug the flat land along valley bottoms.

This covers a large portion of flat land and could take the largest planes available, even by today's standards.

They looked large against the light pouring down over the flat land .

Just the other side of the Humber estuary another long distance path heads through the flat lands of the Lincolnshire Wolds.

They are situated on a slight south-east incline amidst surrounding flat lands .

rate

Flat rate farmers will have to issue invoices for all supplies of goods and services where the flat rate addition is added.

The phone company said the flat rate is an addition to its Sprint Sense program, which it began a year ago.

Class 2 contributions are payable at a flat rate while Class 4 contributions are payable as a percentage of profits.

Forbes wanted to simplify filing taxes by narrowing the current five rates to a single flat rate.

More than three out of five taxpayers pay a flat rate of 15 percent already.

Therefore, an 11 percent flat rate theoretically would yield the same amount.

It will cost a flat rate of £39.99 per month, which includes line rental and installation.

Forbes, who is calling for a 17 percent flat rate , would not tax dividends, interest or capital gains.

roof

Since we now insulate above loft ceilings and within flat roof structures, the air space above the insulation is cold.

Those buildings include triple deckers with flat roofs and large roofs such as those on department stores and supermarkets.

Roofs , particularly flat roofs, can be damaged as a result of weight of snow lying on them.

An adobe box is what it is, with flat roof and copper spouts to drain rainwater at either corner.

There had once been an outside staircase leading up to the flat roof but that, too, had collapsed.

The new, improved materials available have gone a long way towards extending the lifespan of today's flat roof .

This is labour intensive and a suitable flat roof site has to be found.

Which has a flat roof behind a parapet so you can't see it from the street.

stone

Philip worked a flat stone out of the earth by the roots of the beech tree.

Kali sat down on a flat stone , sighing with relief.

A large circular flat stone on the green is said to be the remains of the market cross.

Spawning is easy, so provide flat stones for spawning sites.

Under rubble in bomb-sites and they didn't get any nice flat stone with writing either.

It had plucked Mariana from the pillion seat, skittering her against the current like a flat stone skipped across a pond.

There were some blankets on a flat stone where the man slept.

You can often find a colony by looking under large flat stones , planks of wood or rubble lying on the soil.

surface

But then she realized that laid out before her was a flat surface .

When a circularly polarized signal is reflected from a flat surface , the direction of polarization is reversed.

If the strip becomes curled when you cut it, put it on a hard flat surface and hammer it flat.

Soften the lemon by rolling it back and forth along a flat surface .

Place the sensor on a flat surface and rotate it slowly through 360°.

Gently press down to form an even, flat surface .

He was already advancing up the truck as Ward slithered down on to the flat surface of it.

Meanwhile, take cookies and place them in a plastic bag on a flat surface .

tax

Voters who prefer a flat tax think it will lead to a rising standard of living, according to the poll.

Forbes' campaign maintains that his ideas, including his call for a flat tax , are powering his rise.

The real question for Bob Dole is: Does he support a flat tax that is a tax cut?

The poll showed the publicity about Forbes' candidacy and the flat tax is registering with Californians.

In Colorado, the number of voters backing the flat tax rose to 60 percent.

Former rival Steve Forbes has urged Dole to adopt the flat tax idea that was central to Forbes' presidential campaign.

First of all, the mandate would look like a flat tax on each worker.

tire

He had no useful information about the shooting that took place nearby as Cosby changed a flat tire , police said.

If you have a flat tire , stuff like that happens.

The doctoral student was apparently attempting to change a flat tire when his assailant struck.

She explains to Jose that they have a flat tire and muse go back down the road to the big house.

Suppose he had a flat tire ?

Tight shoes A motorcycle with two flat tires .

In the above case, it would be contextually inappropriate to be only reporting a flat tire at a gas station.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

be (flat) on your back

He's been flat on his back in the hospital for a week..

After I was on its back , we all took off again on a run.

Her eyes opened; she was on her back .

His father was on his back night and day.

The child was on her back , unconscious.

The jelly cupboard was on its back , its contents lying in a heap in the corner of the bottom shelf.

The result is that the liter pop bottle you tossed out six months ago may be on your back today.

The sun was on his back as he swung himself over her and her long legs parted in expectation.

What else would he need if he were going to be flat on his back or stomach?

fall flat

At first, Gorbachev's political ideas fell flat.

Koppel's clumsy joke fell flat.

Your joke about the nuns really fell flat, didn't it?

But the hopes fell flat, and private funding for vaccine work is drying up.

He has been Navajo president for one year, and his efforts to decentralize tribal government so far have fallen flat.

However, if your suggestion falls flat, he may not be ready to try another until the 21st century.

I knew it would fall flat; but it wasn't the bad script which made the film unsuccessful.

Yet there are certain composers who fall flat on their face unless the adrenalin really start to flow.

flatter yourself

"I think you like me more than you'll admit." "Don't flatter yourself."

He flattered himself that he would discover a twin soul in the famous Rifleman.

I don't flatter myself that she was eager to take my name.

Indeed Karelius, in opera cloak and one of Aranyos' dandyish suits, flattered himself he looked as distinguished as any.

She had got bored by herself - and, if I flatter myself, there was a tinge of concern for me.

Should we flatter ourselves that our descendants will find our concerns of the utmost importance?

So I don't flatter myself that some one who gets my beliefs will automatically get true ones.

The most that I can claim or flatter myself with, is to be of the middle rank....

house/flat share

In the wall both houses shared there was a little chink.

Many brokerage house shares were also lower.

The facility also houses shared and dedicated web hosting servers.

house/flat with vacant possession

in/into a (flat) spin

After decent dousing on Splash Mountain, need to go into spin cycle to dry off.

At four hundred feet he hadn't enough altitude from which he could recover if he went into a spin .

But Yoyo, just frozen in a spin , happens to look up and see him.

EuroDisney, ahead of Thursday's figures, was in a spin .

Incidentally, if an aircraft is very difficult to get into a spin , it also may be very difficult to recover.

The tundras will drag you into a spin .

job-hunting/house-hunting/flat-hunting

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a flat , sandy beach

Cambridge is very flat and you can see for miles.

Focaccia, an Italian flat bread, has become very popular for sandwiches.

Home prices have stayed flat for the past year.

I don't know why some English people prefer flat beer.

Stack the crepes on a flat plate.

That champagne must have gone flat by now

The game just seemed kind of flat , like they didn't care.

The horn was a little flat .

This Coke is completely flat .

We sat down on a big flat rock.

We swam out to a flat rock to sunbathe.

Worries over the economy have kept attendance flat at California's theme parks.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

If by fair you mean that everyone pays the same proportion of his income in taxes, the flat tax comes closer.

Investors on Wall Street applauded the results, even though sales at stores open at least a year were essentially flat .

It was flat and smooth under her thick gray cotton underpants.

Roofs, particularly flat roofs, can be damaged as a result of weight of snow lying on them.

Tails are assumed to act as stiff flat plates with continuous surfaces.

There was a neat solid bulge where her flat belly had been.

Would a flat tax save taxpayers money and time, or is it a rip-off that would help only the rich?

II. noun

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADJECTIVE

small

Rita in her small flat is typical.

Jacqueline lives simply in a small Antwerp flat .

Mrs Smith is a widow living in a small council flat in Bermondsey.

Alek had a small lovely flat and listened to Tchaikovsky on the phonograph.

Couple 2 - A married young couple who are decorating a small flat .

He had a small flat in a converted terrace house.

And so they moved, with no master plan in mind, first to their small flat in Brussels.

Constanza took a small flat of her own.

■ NOUN

basement

Keith leaves his basement flat in plenty of time.

They lived in a basement flat in South London then, he, his wife, and the two little girls.

He stood almost on the same spot as before, and watched the lighted windows of a basement flat across the way.

In an urban environment, basement flats are not advisable for the single dweller.

The police report that over 40 percent of burglaries of urban dwellings are break-ins to basement flats .

They arrive at the empty basement flat just after one.

Miss Tan could not be charged with running a brothel because she worked alone in her basement flat .

She has the basement flat and it's always got this sour damp smell even though she burns joss sticks all day long.

mud

Sea-birds, like snowflakes, turned lazily far out over the mud flats ....

It is one of merged meadowlands ending in the great saltings and mud flats and tidal pools near the restless sea.

In some areas, such as a Donna Nook and Theddlethorpe, the sand and mud flats are incredibly vast.

It is, in fact a large, dusty mud flat .

Wading birds collect great quantities of small molluscs from sandbanks and mud flats when the tide retreats.

Cardiff was, of course, built on mud flats , and nature takes a long time to change.

If the mud flats freeze over, it is impossible for them to find sufficient food.

At Grangemouth docks were dug out of the mud flats .

penthouse

Finally his double-barrelled family had stepped in and bought the prodigal a mega-mineral cure and a penthouse flat .

Hence their privileged presence in his penthouse flat .

■ VERB

build

They're going to start building lots of new flats .

They are being replaced by cheaply built one-bedroom flats .

buy

A friend and his wife are having a struggle to buy a flat because so few properties come on the market.

Anybody who is rich can buy a number of flats without government controls; but young couples without savings can afford nothing.

About two months before, I sold almost all my shares in order to buy the flat .

With the legacy she left me when she died I bought the little flat on Fernhill.

Dave Escott bought his flat , leasehold, 5 years ago.

Read in studio A couple who bought a flat which didn't officially exist are still fighting for compensation four years later.

He suffocated her after she accused him of being too mean to buy a £730,000 flat in London's wealthy Belgravia district.

Another way for an investor to limit voids is to buy more than one flat or house.

convert

I lived with Kay in a huge house in London that had been meanly converted into ten flats .

After being converted into flats , the family found 100 building defects costing around 80,000 to put right.

It consisted of two large blocks of buildings which have now been converted into flats .

leave

Keith leaves his basement flat in plenty of time.

He says he left your flat soon after taking you back from dinner.

Crook in particular was anxious to leave the ground floor flat because his windows had been smashed and he had been attacked.

I left the flat for university.

Steer clear of heavy, creamy products which leave hair flat and lifeless.

Her first thought was that she would have to leave the flat .

Tatyana Vysokogorets-Dostoevskaya, 63, never leaves her second-floor flat .

live

Billing people can be difficult, especially if they live in flats .

They lived in a basement flat in South London then, he, his wife, and the two little girls.

We used to live in this poky flat in the middle of London when I was very little.

For the last year we have lived together in my flat .

Why should I have to live in a one-bedroom flat when others have spacious houses?

That was how I came to live in the flats at Annick Water.

When living in his Stirling flat he contrived to flood the downstairs neighbours - three times!

Mr A is 75 and he and his wife live in an upstairs flat .

move

Weeks later, he had finally moved into an independent flat .

She wanted to avoid Oliver, although she was desperate to know that he had moved out of the flat .

And they have vowed to refuse to move back into the flats on Conwy Morfa until their demands are met.

Andrew will shortly be moving into a new flat in Dumbarton.

Last month, in the process of moving flat , my telephone disappeared.

The big news, though, was that Richard and Hudson had moved into their new flat .

That happened to Catherine Lane when she moved out of a London flat .

We wanted very much to ask Eliot round before departure, especially as we had now moved to a bigger flat .

share

Eliot was a lonely man, and Hayward was the only single person he knew with whom he could share a flat .

Soon they were enjoying evenings out together and ended up sharing a flat .

Whatever the nature of their relationship, it was clear that husband and wife had shared the same flat .

Her new secretary was arriving and was going to share her flat for a while.

The two girls who shared the upstairs flat were models, and often travelled abroad on assignments.

They first met when she moved to London to share the flat which her father had bought for her.

stay

They couldn't after all, have stayed in the flat .

What if he had to sit out in the groves or stay flat on his back until she returned?

She knew she would feel slightly better about the situation if he were forcing her to stay at his flat in London.

Oil prices in nominal dollar terms are expected to stay flat , at best, between now and the year 2000.

One night, after an extramural film excursion, Carl stays behind in her flat .

I won't be staying in your flat .

She didn't ask me if I was staying in the flat at Annick Water.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

be (flat) on your back

He's been flat on his back in the hospital for a week..

After I was on its back , we all took off again on a run.

Her eyes opened; she was on her back .

His father was on his back night and day.

The child was on her back , unconscious.

The jelly cupboard was on its back , its contents lying in a heap in the corner of the bottom shelf.

The result is that the liter pop bottle you tossed out six months ago may be on your back today.

The sun was on his back as he swung himself over her and her long legs parted in expectation.

What else would he need if he were going to be flat on his back or stomach?

fall flat

At first, Gorbachev's political ideas fell flat.

Koppel's clumsy joke fell flat.

Your joke about the nuns really fell flat, didn't it?

But the hopes fell flat, and private funding for vaccine work is drying up.

He has been Navajo president for one year, and his efforts to decentralize tribal government so far have fallen flat.

However, if your suggestion falls flat, he may not be ready to try another until the 21st century.

I knew it would fall flat; but it wasn't the bad script which made the film unsuccessful.

Yet there are certain composers who fall flat on their face unless the adrenalin really start to flow.

flatter yourself

"I think you like me more than you'll admit." "Don't flatter yourself."

He flattered himself that he would discover a twin soul in the famous Rifleman.

I don't flatter myself that she was eager to take my name.

Indeed Karelius, in opera cloak and one of Aranyos' dandyish suits, flattered himself he looked as distinguished as any.

She had got bored by herself - and, if I flatter myself, there was a tinge of concern for me.

Should we flatter ourselves that our descendants will find our concerns of the utmost importance?

So I don't flatter myself that some one who gets my beliefs will automatically get true ones.

The most that I can claim or flatter myself with, is to be of the middle rank....

house/flat share

In the wall both houses shared there was a little chink.

Many brokerage house shares were also lower.

The facility also houses shared and dedicated web hosting servers.

house/flat with vacant possession

in/into a (flat) spin

After decent dousing on Splash Mountain, need to go into spin cycle to dry off.

At four hundred feet he hadn't enough altitude from which he could recover if he went into a spin .

But Yoyo, just frozen in a spin , happens to look up and see him.

EuroDisney, ahead of Thursday's figures, was in a spin .

Incidentally, if an aircraft is very difficult to get into a spin , it also may be very difficult to recover.

The tundras will drag you into a spin .

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a group of students in a shared flat

Lisa lives on the nineteenth floor of a black of flats in London.

Stella and Keith moved into a cold, damp flat together.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

Headlines about local councils demolishing blocks of flats 10 years old or younger have become commonplace in the past four years.

Prices start from £40,995 for a studio and £49,995 for one-bedroom flats.

Sitting in the high-ceilinged library of his comfortable flat , he looks the part: bespectacled, a man of thoughtful pose.

The Government is restoring several of them as holiday flats, a slow process but tastefully done.

III. adverb

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ VERB

lie

Because the knot lies flat it is often used in bandaging.

Stephen lay flat , gazing out at the patterns of sunlight, his chin resting on the backs of his hands.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

Attaching a deep heading tape Lay the curtains out flat with lining sides uppermost.

Deliberately he settled flat , inviting the pain to do its worst; quietly enjoying conquering it and himself.

If you removed the future earnings, Baker told jurors, O. J. Simpson is flat broke.

Stretched out flat , her feet pointing to the bow, she closed her eyes.

They rest with their wings flat , but with the front wings covering their rear ones.

You know how all the tires were flat out at the lake that night?

Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary.      Дополнительный английский словарь Longman DOCE5.