- horizontally level: a flat roof.
- level, even, or without unevenness of surface, as land or tabletops.
- having a surface that is without marked projections or depressions: a broad, flat face.
- lying horizontally and at full length, as a person; prostrate: He was flat on the canvas after the knockdown.
- lying wholly on or against something: The banner was flat against the wall.
- thrown down, laid low, or level with the ground, as fallen trees or buildings.
- having a generally level shape or appearance; not deep or thick: a flat plate.
- (of the heel of a shoe) low and broad.
- spread out, as an unrolled map or the open hand.
- deflated; collapsed: a flat tire.
- absolute, downright, or positive; without qualification: a flat denial.
- without modification or variation: a flat rate.
- Informal. lacking money; broke.
- without vitality or animation; lifeless; dull: flat writing.
- having lost its flavor, sharpness, or life, as wine or food; stale.
- (of a beverage) having lost its effervescence.
- without flavor; not spiced: flat cooking.
- prosaic, banal, or insipid: a flat style.
- pointless, as a remark or joke.
- commercially inactive: a flat day in the stock market.
- (of a painting) not having the illusion of volume or depth.
- (of a photograph or painting) lacking contrast or gradations of tone or color.
- (of paint) without gloss; not shiny; mat.
- not clear, sharp, or ringing, as sound or a voice.
- lacking resonance and variation in pitch; monotonous: a flat delivery of the speech.
- (of a tone) lowered a half step in pitch: B flat.
- below an intended pitch, as a note; too low (opposed to sharp).
- Grammar. derived without change in form, as English to brush from the noun brush and adverbs that do not add -ly to the adjective form as fast, cheap, and slow.
- Phonetics. lenis; voiced.
- Nautical. (of a sail)
- cut with little or no fullness.
- trimmed as nearly fore-and-aft as possible, for sailing to windward.
- flat a, the a-sound (a) of glad, bat, or act.
- something flat.
- a shoe, especially a woman's shoe, with a flat heel or no heel.
- a flat surface, side, or part of anything: He struck me with the flat of his hand.
- flat or level ground; a flat area: salt flats.
- a marsh, shoal, or shallow.
- (in musical notation) the character ♭, which when attached to a note or to a staff degree lowers its significance one chromatic half step.
- a tone one chromatic half step below another: The flat of B is B flat.
- (on keyboard instruments, with reference to any given note) the key next below or to the left.
- Theater. a piece of scenery consisting of a wooden frame, usually rectangular, covered with lightweight board or fabric.
- a broad, thin book, chiefly for children: a juvenile flat.
- Informal. a deflated automobile tire.
- (in postal use) a large flat package, as in a manila envelope, for mailing.
- Architecture. a flat roof or deck.
- Also called platform.a partial deck between two full decks.
- a low, flat barge or lighter.
- a broad, flat piece of iron or steel for overlapping and joining two plates at their edges.
- a straight timber in a frame or other assembly of generally curved timbers.
- an iron or steel bar of rectangular cross section.
- Textiles. one of a series of laths covered with card clothing, used in conjunction with the cylinder in carding.
- Photography. one or more negatives or positives in position to be reproduced.
- Printing. a device for holding a negative or positive flat for reproduction by photoengraving.
- Horticulture. a shallow, lidless box or tray used for rooting seeds and cuttings and for growing young plants.
- a similar box used for shipping and selling fruits and vegetables.
- Football. the area of the field immediately inside of or outside of an offensive end, close behind or at the line of scrimmage.
- flats, Informal. flat races between horses.Compare flat race.
- to make flat.
- Music. to lower (a pitch), especially one half step.
- to become flat.
- in a flat position; horizontally; levelly.
- in a flat manner; positively; absolutely.
- completely; utterly: flat broke.
- exactly; precisely: She ran around the track in two minutes flat.
- Music. below the true pitch: to sing flat.
- Finance. without interest.
- flat in, Nautical. to pull the clew of (a fore-and-aft sail) as nearly amidships as possible.Also flatten in.
- fall flat, to fail to produce the desired effect; fail completely: His attempts at humor fell flat.
- flat aft, Nautical. trimmed so that fore-and-aft sails present as flat a surface as possible, as in sailing close to the wind.
- flat on one's back. back1(def 47).
- flat out, Informal.
- without hesitation; directly or openly: He told us flat out he'd been a double agent.
- at full speed or with maximum effort.
Origin of flat1
Synonyms for flatSee more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
Antonyms for flat
- Chiefly British. an apartment or suite of rooms on one floor forming a residence.
Origin of flat2
Related Words for flathorizontal, unbroken, low, empty, bland, lifeless, stale, weak, dead, straight, suite, tenement, condo, walk-up, even, plane, pancake, flush, splay, oblate
Examples from the Web for flat
Contemporary Examples of flat
There were stomachs, taut and flat, but also undulating bellies, soft and bloated from the breakfast buffet.Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’
January 7, 2015
The program—weirdly—is now under the umbrella of ABC News, and is suffering from flat ratings and an aging demographic.The Bloodiest Media Coups of 2014
December 22, 2014
Hitchcock settled in southern California, leaving behind a flat in London and a country house in Shamley Green.
Then when we arrive at his flat in Shepherd's Bush following the escape, perhaps there ought to be remnants of the ladder.
In a bizarre twist to proceedings, Miss Manners sought to have her £30 cab fare from her Kensington flat to court refunded.How A British Aristocrat Used Big Game Hunter’s Sperm To Get Pregnant Without His Permission
December 2, 2014
Historical Examples of flat
Camped on a gully with some old feed in the flat, in latitude 27 degrees 49 minutes.Explorations in Australia
Sidney could hear her moving about with flat, inelastic steps.
When he found that the ice was out and the beer warm and flat, he was furious.
Linda laid her palm on the top of the sand heap and pressed it flat.Her Father's Daughter
And outside of this little circle is all the flat top of Ytaioa representing the world.Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson
- horizontal; levelflat ground; a flat roof
- even or smooth, without projections or depressionsa flat surface
- lying stretched out at full length; prostratehe lay flat on the ground
- having little depth or thickness; shallowa flat dish
- (postpositive often foll by against) having a surface or side in complete contact with another surfaceflat against the wall
- spread out, unrolled, or levelled
- (of a tyre) deflated, either partially or completely
- (of shoes) having an unraised or only slightly raised heel
- mainly British
- (of races, racetracks, or racecourses) not having obstacles to be jumped
- of, relating to, or connected with flat racing as opposed to steeplechasing and hurdlingflat jockeys earn more
- without qualification; totala flat denial
- without possibility of change; fixeda flat rate
- (prenominal or immediately postpositive) neither more nor less; exacthe did the journey in thirty minutes flat; a flat thirty minutes
- unexciting or lacking point or interesta flat joke
- without variation or resonance; monotonousa flat voice
- (of food) stale or tasteless
- (of beer, sparkling wines, etc) having lost effervescence, as by exposure to air
- (of trade, business, a market, etc) commercially inactive; sluggish
- (of a battery) fully discharged; dead
- (of a print, photograph, or painting) lacking contrast or shading between tones
- (of paint) without gloss or lustre; matt
- (of a painting) lacking perspective
- (of lighting) diffuse
- (immediately postpositive)denoting a note of a given letter name (or the sound it represents) that has been lowered in pitch by one chromatic semitoneB flat
- (of an instrument, voice, etc) out of tune by being too low in pitchCompare sharp (def. 12)
- phonetics another word for lenis
- flat a phonetics the vowel sound of a as in the usual US or S Brit pronunciation of hand, cat, usually represented by the symbol (æ)
- in or into a prostrate, level, or flat state or positionhe held his hand out flat
- completely or utterly; absolutelyhe went flat against the rules
- exactly; preciselyin three minutes flat
- lower than a standard pitch
- too low in pitchshe sings flat Compare sharp (def. 18)
- fall flat to fail to achieve a desired effect, etc
- flat out informal
- with the maximum speed or effort
- totally exhausted
- a flat object, surface, or part
- (often plural) a low-lying tract of land, esp a marsh or swamp
- (often plural) a mud bank exposed at low tide
- an accidental that lowers the pitch of the following note by one chromatic semitoneUsual symbol: ♭
- a note affected by this accidentalCompare sharp (def. 19)
- theatre a rectangular wooden frame covered with painted canvas, etc, used to form part of a stage setting
- a punctured car tyre
- the flat mainly British ((often cap.))
- flat racing, esp as opposed to steeplechasing and hurdling
- the season of flat racing
- nautical a flatboat or lighter
- US and Canadian a shallow box or container, used for holding plants, growing seedlings, etc
- to make or become flat
- music the usual US word for flatten (def. 3)
Word Origin for flat
- a set of rooms comprising a residence entirely on one floor of a buildingUsual US and Canadian name: apartment
- British and NZ a portion of a house used as separate living quarters
- NZ a house shared with people who are not members of one's own family
- Australian and NZ to live in a flat (with someone)
Word Origin for flat
early 14c., from Old Norse flatr, from Proto-Germanic *flataz (cf. Old Saxon flat "flat, shallow,: Old High German flaz "flat, level," Old English flet, Old High German flezzi "floor"), perhaps from PIE *plat- "to spread" (cf. Greek platys "broad, flat;" see plaice (n.)).
Sense of "prosaic, dull" is from 1570s; used of drink from c.1600; of musical notes from 1590s, because the tone is "lowered." Flat-out (adv.) "openly, directly" is from 1932; earlier it was a noun meaning "total failure" (1870, U.S. colloquial).
1801, from Scottish flat "floor or story of a house," from Old English flet "a dwelling, floor, ground," from the same source as flat (adj.).
In addition to the idioms beginning with flat
- flat as a pancake
- flat broke
- flat on one's back
- flat out
- caught flat-footed
- fall flat
- in no time (nothing flat)
- leave flat