(~s, ~ter, ~test)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a set of rooms for living in, usually on one floor and part of a larger building. A ~ usually includes a kitchen and bathroom. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use apartment )
Sara lives with her husband and children in a ~ in central London...
It started a fire in a block of ~s...
Later on, Victor from ~ 10 called.
= apartment
N-COUNT: also N num
2.
Something that is ~ is level, smooth, or even, rather than sloping, curved, or uneven.
Tiles can be fixed to any surface as long as it’s ~, firm and dry...
After a moment his right hand moved across the cloth, smoothing it ~...
The sea was calm, perfectly ~.
ADJ
3.
Flat means horizontal and not upright.
Two men near him threw themselves ~...
As heartburn is usually worse when you’re lying down in bed, you should avoid lying ~.
ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ, ADJ after v
4.
A ~ object is not very tall or deep in relation to its length and width.
Ellen is walking down the drive with a square ~ box balanced on one hand.
= shallow
ADJ: usu ADJ n
5.
Flat land is level, with no high hills or other raised parts.
To the north lie the ~ and fertile farmlands of the Solway plain...
The landscape became wider, ~ter and very scenic...
ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ, ADJ after v
6.
A low ~ area of uncultivated land, especially an area where the ground is soft and wet, can be referred to as ~s or a ~.
The salt marshes and mud ~s attract large numbers of waterfowl.
N-COUNT: usu pl, usu n N
7.
You can refer to one of the broad ~ surfaces of an object as the ~ of that object.
He slammed the counter with the ~ of his hand.
...eight cloves of garlic crushed with the ~ of a knife.
N-COUNT: usu sing, the N of n
8.
Flat shoes have no heels or very low heels.
People wear slacks, sweaters, ~ shoes, and all manner of casual attire for travel.
ADJ: usu ADJ n
•
Flats are ~ shoes. (AM)
His mother looked ten years younger in jeans and ~s.
N-PLURAL
9.
A ~ tyre, ball, or balloon does not have enough air in it.
ADJ
10.
A ~ is a tyre that does not have enough air in it.
Then, after I finally got back on the highway, I developed a ~.
N-COUNT
11.
A drink that is ~ is no longer fizzy.
Could this really stop the champagne from going ~?
? fizzy
ADJ
12.
A ~ battery has lost some or all of its electrical charge. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use dead )
His car alarm had been going off for two days and, as a result, the battery was ~.
ADJ
13.
If you have ~ feet, the arches of your feet are too low.
The condition of ~ feet runs in families.
ADJ
14.
A ~ denial or refusal is definite and firm, and is unlikely to be changed.
The Foreign Ministry has issued a ~ denial of any involvement...
ADJ: ADJ n
~ly
He ~ly refused to discuss it...
ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj
15.
If you say that something happened, for example, in ten seconds ~ or ten minutes ~, you are emphasizing that it happened surprisingly quickly and only took ten seconds or ten minutes.
You’re sitting behind an engine that’ll move you from 0 to 60mph in six seconds ~...
ADJ: num n ADJ emphasis
16.
A ~ rate, price, or percentage is one that is fixed and which applies in every situation.
Fees are charged at a ~ rate, rather than on a percentage basis...
Sometimes there’s a ~ fee for carrying out a particular task...
= fixed
? variable
ADJ: ADJ n
17.
If trade or business is ~, it is slow and inactive, rather than busy and improving or increasing.
During the first eight months of this year, sales of big pickups were up 14% while car sales stayed ~...
= sluggish
ADJ
18.
If you describe something as ~, you mean that it is dull and not exciting or interesting.
The past few days have seemed comparatively ~ and empty...
ADJ
19.
You use ~ to describe someone’s voice when they are saying something without expressing any emotion.
‘Whatever you say,’ he said in a deadly ~ voice. ‘I’ll sit here and wait.’...
Her voice was ~, with no question or hope in it.
ADJ
~ly
I know you,’ he said ~ly, matter-of-fact, neutral in tone.
ADV: ADV after v
20.
Flat is used after a letter representing a musical note to show that the note should be played or sung half a tone lower than the note which otherwise matches that letter. Flat is often represented by the symbol ? after the letter.
...Schubert’s B ~ Piano Trio (Opus 99).
? sharp
ADJ: n ADJ
21.
If someone sings ~ or if a musical instrument is ~, their singing or the instrument is slightly lower in pitch than it should be.
Her vocal range was, to say the least of it, limited, and she had a distressing tendency to sing ~.
ADV: ADV after v
•
Flat is also an adjective.
He had been fired because his singing was ~.
ADJ
22.
If you say that something is as ~ as a pancake, you are emphasizing that it is completely ~.
My home state of Illinois is ~ as a pancake...
PHRASE: v-link PHR emphasis
23.
If you fall ~ on your face, you fall over.
A man walked in off the street and fell ~ on his face, unconscious.
PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR on n
24.
If an event or attempt falls ~ or falls ~ on its face, it is unsuccessful.
Liz meant it as a joke but it fell ~...
If it wasn’t for the main actress, Ellen Barkin, the plot would have fallen ~ on its face.
= fail
PHRASE: V inflects
25.
If you say that you are ~ broke, you mean that you have no money at all. (INFORMAL)
Two years later he is ~ broke and on the dole.
= skint
PHRASE: v-link PHR emphasis
26.
If you do something ~ out, you do it as fast or as hard as you can.
Everyone is working ~ out to try to trap those responsible...
They hurtled across the line in a ~-out sprint.
PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n
27.
You use ~ out to emphasize that something is completely the case. (mainly AM INFORMAL)
That allegation is a ~-out lie...
PHRASE: PHR n/adj, PHR with v emphasis
28.
On the ~ means on level ground.
He had angina and was unable to walk for more than 200 yards on the ~.
PHRASE
29.
in a ~ spin: see spin