I. ˈflat, usu -ad.+V adjective
( flatter ; flattest )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse flatr; akin to Old Saxon flat shallow, Old High German flaz flat, Latvian plañdît to make broad, Greek platys flat, broad — more at place
1. : having or marked by a continuous surface that is horizontal or nearly so without significant curvature or inclination and without noteworthy elevations or depression
a flat top
a flat plateau
a flat deck
2.
a. : lying at full length or spread out upon the ground : level with the ground or earth
urged the pony flat out and belly to the ground — Alan LeMay
: prostrate
grass flat after the storm
b. : utterly ruined, incapacitated, or destroyed : laid low
buildings flat from the blast
was flat with diphtheria
my hopes all flat — John Milton
c. : resting with a surface against or immediately adjoining something
push the chairs flat against the wall
is flat on his back in bed
3.
a. : having a smooth or even surface whether horizontal or not
use the flatter side for the face
a flat slab of rock
b. : smooth or even by comparison with something usually implied
a broad flat face
a design worked in flat relief
c. of a fur : having a smooth sleek surface due to hairs lying strongly inclined to the surface ; sometimes : having the hairs sparse and short
d. of a knit fabric : lacking ribs : flat-knit
4. : arranged or laid out so as to be level, smooth, or even
maps flat on the desk
5.
a. : having the major surfaces essentially parallel and distinctly greater than the minor surfaces
a flat piece of wood
coins are usually round and flat
b. of a shoe heel : very low and broad ; also of a shoe : having a flat heel or no heel
flat shoes for ballet
6.
a. : clear and unmistakable : downright , positive
a flat contradiction of his sister's statement
a flat failure
sometimes : peremptory
a flat denial of responsibility
b. : not varied or varying (as from a fixed or normal amount or standard) : absolute , fixed
a flat service charge
a flat rate
also : having no fraction either lacking or in excess : exact , precise
made the bus in a flat 10 seconds
ran the mile in four minutes flat
7.
a. : weak or lacking in animation, spirit, zest, or vigor : devoid of qualities that please, interest, or stimulate dull , lifeless
a flat drab deadly round of work, eat, sleep
flat puerile writing lacking both substance and style
plays whose composition is neither lifelike nor unlifelike but just flat — Marston Balch
b. : lacking mental alertness or vigor : dull and stupid
flat cloddish minds
c. : lacking savor : insipid , tasteless
the stew is too flat
d. of an effervescent drink : having given off the included gas and become still : lacking effervescence or sparkle
beer goes flat on standing
e. : commercially inactive : dull and depressed
the market is very flat for this time of year
f. : deflated — used chiefly of pneumatic tires
g. : lacking funds : having no money
8.
a. : characterized by lack of clearness, sharpness, accuracy of pitch, or sonority — used especially of the tone quality of a musical instrument or voice
the bell has a flat sound as if cracked
b. of a musical note or tone : minor or lower by a half step
a flat seventh
also of a key or tonality : having a flat in the signature
the key of B flat
c. of a vowel a
(1) : pronounced as in bad or bat — used especially when so pronounced in a class of English words that have the vowel of palm or par in some dialects
pronouncing ask with a flat a
(2) : pronounced with a sound that more resembles in quality the a of bat than the o of bother without actually being the a of bat — used of the a of such words as part, palm, father as often pronounced in eastern New England
9.
a. : having a low trajectory
the bow shoots a flat arrow
made a flat pass that was intercepted
b. of a tennis ball : hit squarely without being spun by the racket
a flat drive
10. : not having an inflectional ending or sign — used especially of an adherent noun, an infinitive without the sign to, or an adverb with no adverbial ending
11. of a curve or angle : gradual , shallow : not sharp or steep
flat dive
flat glide
12.
a. of a weather map : showing little regional variation in barometric pressure
b. of weather : having not much wind or pressure variation : calm
13. of a sail : made taut so as to prevent or reduce bellying
eased before the wind with all sheets flat
14.
a. : uniform in hue or shade
figures standing out against a background of flat wash
b. of a painting : having little or no illusion of depth, interest being concentrated on the surface treatment
c. of a photograph or negative : lacking contrast
d. of a lighting arrangement : not emphasizing shadows or contours — used especially of an arrangement for photography in which light comes from a point that is in front of the subject and in line with the camera
e. : free from gloss
a flat paint
f. of a proof : made from an unfinished printing surface
took a flat proof from a form on the press but not yet made ready
15. : having no bevel — used to ship timbers
16. : being or relating to a transducer response or output that is in constant ratio to the input as the frequency varies so that there is distortionless reproduction over a specified frequency range
Synonyms: see insipid , level
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from flat, adjective — more at flat I
1.
a.
(1) : a level surface of land with little or no relief : plain
(2) : a level tract lying at little depth below the surface of water or alternately covered and left bare by the tide : shoal , shallow , strand
(3) : a tract of wet low-lying level land : marsh , swamp
(4) chiefly North & Midland : bottom 6
b.
(1) : one of the divisions of cropland used in common
(2) dialect : a field growing a crop
c. : a horizontal extension of a mineral vein ; also : a flat horizontal deposit (as of ore)
d. : a running track or other course for a flat race
a race for three-year-old trotters on the flat
e. : the part of a football field immediately adjacent to the flanks of either team
2. : a flat part or surface: as
a. : one of the larger essentially parallel surfaces of something characterized by great disparity in the size of its surfaces — often opposed to edge
struck the boy with the flat of the ruler
drive the stake with the flat of your ax
b. : the palm of the hand sometimes together with the palmar surface of the fingers
pat out the dough with the flat of your hand
3. : an improper die that because of imperfectly cubical form tends to present a particular face more frequently than a perfect die
4.
a. : a musical note or tone one half step lower than a specified note or tone
A flat is the flat of A
b. : a character ♭ on a line or space of the musical staff indicating a pitch a half step lower than the line or space would otherwise indicate without it
5. : something of broad shallow form: as
a. : a shallow basket, crate, or other container in which produce is shipped to market
b. : a broad-brimmed low-crowned straw hat
c. : a platform on wheels upon which displays (as of emblematic designs) are drawn in processions — compare float
d. : a shallow box in which seedlings are started
e. : a flat-bottomed boat with a shallow draft and without keel
f. : a flatcar or other draft vehicle (as a motortruck or handcart) without raised sides
g. : a pressed paper divider having shallow depressions in which eggs are placed to fill a single layer of an egg case
h. : a flat piece of theatrical scenery typically consisting of a wood frame covered with painted cloth and used to form a section of a set wall or ceiling or to mask a door or window
i. : one of the slats with teeth that are mounted on an endless chain above the cylinder of a carding machine and that assist in ordering the textile fiber being carded
6. : something of broad and thin or flat form: as
a. : a plane mirror or reflector ; also : a transparent disk with one or both surfaces accurately plane — called also optical flat
b. : a mature mushroom with a fully expanded cap — compare button 2d
c. : a picture-frame mat
d. : a level deck on a ship ; especially : one onto which cabins open
e. : a shoe or slipper having a flat heel or no heel
f. : an architectural member having the form of a platform of generally horizontal character (as the deck of a roof with steep sides or any roof of which the slope does not much exceed one in twenty)
g. : a long flat square-edged artist's brush — compare bright , round
h. : a collapsed or knocked down container as sent in bulk to the purchaser
i. : the straight part of the cutting edge of a machine tool
7. : a punctured tire : a pneumatic tire with no air pressure
8.
a. : a rolled metal bar of uniform rectangular cross section
b. : the cylindrical portion of the contour at either root or crest of certain screw threads
9. : euclidean space
10. : a surface (as of paint) that is not glossy
11.
a. : an unfolded sheet of paper
b. flats plural : writing paper with a flat smooth surface
12. : the thick glass on which negative films are laid close together for printing on sensitized metal in making a photoengraving ; also : an assemblage of negative or positive films from which a photo-offset plate is made
13. : an inferior grade of rough diamonds
14.
a. : a dance step with the full surface of the foot
b. : the act of gliding upright on both edges of a skate blade during a curve where the single edge position is correct ; also : the double track that shows on the ice when a flat occurs — called also double edge
III. adverb
Etymology: flat (I)
1. : in a flat manner : directly , positively
came out flat for less work and higher pay
2.
a. : at full length
fell flat on his face
b. : on or against a flat surface
lying flat on his back
spread out flat on the ground
3. : wholly , completely
flat broke
4. : without charging or without paying interest (as when giving or receiving credit) ; especially : without allowance or charge for accrued interest — used of the selling or quoting of bonds
5. : below the proper musical pitch
he sang slightly flat
6. : with flat sail
sailing flat in a high wind
IV. verb
( flatted ; flatted ; flatting ; flats )
Etymology: flat (I)
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to lay flat : level , raze
2. archaic : to make flat or level : flatten
3. obsolete : to make dull, insipid, or spiritless
passions are allayed, appetites are flatted — Isaac Barrow
4.
a. : to depress (a musical tone) in pitch
b. : to lower in pitch by a half step
a flatted fifth
5.
a. : to cover (a surface) with a flat coat (as of paint)
b. : to remove the gloss from (a painted or varnished surface) especially by sanding
c. : to free (a paint) from the tendency to set with a glossy surface (as by the addition of turpentine)
6. : to plant (as bulbs) in or transplant (as seedlings) into a flat
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : to become flat or flattened : sink or fall to an even surface
2. of a musical tone : to fall from the true or intended pitch
could tell the approach of the milkman by the whistled notes that somehow always flatted
V. noun
( -s )
Etymology: flat (I)
1. : a floor, loft, or story in a building
2.
a. chiefly Britain : an apartment or suite of rooms occupying or forming part of one floor of a building — compare maisonette
b. chiefly North : an apartment on one floor usually with separate outdoor entry and sometimes lacking amenities
a cold-water flat
— compare tenement ; see railroad flat
3. : a building divided into flats — often used in plural
VI. adjective
1. : two-dimensional 2b
flat characters in fiction
2. : characterized by no significant rise or decline (as in profit, resources, or sales) from one period to another
3. : being or characterized by a horizontal line or tracing without peaks or depressions
a flat EEG