flat

adjective flatter · flattest · flatt · flatte

1. Having no variations in height. The land around here is flat.
2. In a horizontal line or plane; not sloping. a flat roof
3. Smooth; having no protrusions, indentations or other surface irregularities, or relatively so. The surface of the mirror must be completely flat.
4. slang Having small or invisible breasts and/or buttocks. Near-synonym: flat-chested
5. Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc. The exchange rate has been flat for several weeks.
6. At a consistently depressed level; consistently lacklustre. Sales have been flat all year, and we've barely broken even.
7. not comparable Of fees, fares etc., fixed; unvarying. a flat fee
8. Without variations in pitch. He delivered the speech in a flat tone.

   Similar: monotone

9. of a vowel Not diphthongal; without variation in height or backness.
10. of colours Without variation in tone or hue (uniform), and dull (not glossy). The walls were painted a flat gray.

    Similar: matte

11. figuratively Lacking liveliness or action; depressed; uninteresting; dull and boring. The party was a bit flat.
12. especially, figuratively, of a character Lacking in depth, substance, or believability; underdeveloped; one-dimensional. The author added a chapter to flesh out the book's flatter characters.

    Opposite: round

13. Lowered by one semitone.
14. Of a note or voice, lower in pitch than it should be. Your A string is flat.
15. Absolute; downright; peremptory. His claim was in flat contradiction to experimental results.
16. of a tire or other inflated object Deflated, especially because of a puncture.

    Similar: deflated, puncture

17. of a carbonated drink With all or most of its carbon dioxide having come out of solution so that the drink no longer fizzes or contains any bubbles.

    Similar: still

18. Lacking acidity without being sweet.

    Similar: flabby

19. of a battery Unable to emit power; dead.
20. of a throw Without spin; spinless.
21. dated, of a consonant Sonant; vocal, as distinguished from a sharp (non-sonant) consonant.
22. Not having an inflectional ending or sign, such as a noun used as an adjective, or an adjective as an adverb, without the addition of a formative suffix; or an infinitive without the sign "to". Many flat adverbs, as in 'run fast', 'buy cheap', etc. are from Old English.
23. of a golf club Having a head at a very obtuse angle to the shaft.
24. of certain fruits Flattening at the ends.
25. of measurements of time Exact. He finished the race in a flat four minutes.
26. of a module Such that the tensor product preserves exact sequences. See Flat module on Wikipedia.Wikipedia.
27. of a ring homomorphism Such that its target, regarded as a module over its source, is flat (as above).
28. of a morphism of schemes Such that the induced map on every stalk is flat (as a map of rings).
29. of coffee Having little froth and little milk.
30. UK, obsolete, slang Foolish; simple-minded. We either burns the old brooms, or, if we can, we sells ’em for a ha’penny to some other boy, if he’s flat enough to buy ’em.

Similar: even, planar, plane, smooth, uniform, boring, dull, uninteresting, unfizzy · Opposite: bumpy, cratered, hilly, rough, wrinkled, sharp

adverb more flat · most flat

1. So as to be flat. Spread the tablecloth flat over the table.
2. Completely, firmly, or unequivocally. I asked him if he wanted to marry me and he turned me down flat.
3. of accurately measured timings Exactly; precisely. In the mile race, Smith's time was 3:58.56, and Brown's was four minutes flat.
4. with units of time Used to emphasize the smallness of the measurement. He can run a mile in four minutes flat.
5. of a custodial sentence Without parole. The recent case in Dallas where two gay males were killed by an 18 yr old straight kid is a perfect example of what gays in this state face. The kid got 30 yrs (he'll do 3 or 4 yrs and be paroled) yet I must do 12 years flat for a robbery in which no one was hurt.
6. Completely. I am flat broke this month.

   Similar: absolutely, completely, utterly

7. Directly; flatly. Sin is flat opposite to the Almighty.

   Similar: bluntly, curtly, flatly

8. Without allowance for accrued interest. The bonds are trading flat.
9. Flat out (at top speed). In the dry, the racing cars can take the corner flat.

   Similar: tops, flatly

10. At a lower pitch than required. The entire song was sung flat.

noun flats

1. An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water). The hovercraft skimmed across the open flats.
2. in the phrase 'the flat' Level ground in general. I can run on the flat but not up hills.
3. sometimes, with 'the' or attributively, with capital Level horse-racing ground, as contrasted with courses incorporating jumps, or the racing done on such ground. This horse will do better over the flat.
4. Australia, sometimes, with 'the' or attributively, with capital the area in the centre of a racecourse. As forecast, Joe suspected nothing as he pottered round the flat in the sunshine, absorbed in the task of picking winners.
5. The areas behind the line of scrimmage to either side of an offensive football formation.
6. A note played one chromatic semitone lower than a natural, denoted by the symbol ♭ placed after the letter representing the note (e.g., B♭) or in front of the note symbol (e.g. ♭♪). The key of E♭ has three flats.
7. informal A flat tyre/flat tire. The next one surrendered his bike, only for that, too, to give him a second flat as he started the descent.
8. in plural A type of ladies' shoe with a very low heel. She liked to walk in her flats more than in her high heels.
9. in plural A type of flat-soled running shoe without spikes.
10. A thin, broad brush used in oil and watercolour painting.
11. The most prominent flat part of something. The outboard bales in each tier should be placed on their edges so that their flats will be presented to the sweat battens. This precaution is necessary to lessen the damage in case of chafage. If the bales chafe or become wet on their flats, only one or two layers will be damaged.
12. The flat side of a blade, as opposed to the sharp edge.
13. The palm of the hand, with the adjacent part of the fingers.
14. A wide, shallow container or pallet. a flat of strawberries
15. US, abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of flat water (“nonfizzy drinking water”). Waiter: Would you like sparkling or flat? Guest: Flat, thank you.
16. A large mail piece measuring at least 8 1/2 by 11 inches, such as catalogs, magazines, and unfolded paper enclosed in large envelopes.
17. US A railroad car without a roof, and whose body is a platform without sides; a platform car or flatcar. For example, when trailers containing new automobiles were first piggybacked two areas of potential damage became evident: (1) diesel locomotive exhaust left a film of oil on the new autos; and (2) auto windshields could be scarred or cracked by the metal-tipped "tell-tales" which warn men atop trai
18. A flat spot on the wheel of a rail vehicle. The tender roared along vibrating vigorously; braking had resulted in "flats" on most of its tyres.
19. A flat-bottomed boat, without keel, and of small draught.
20. A subset of n-dimensional space that is congruent to a Euclidean space of lower dimension.
21. A straw hat, broad-brimmed and low-crowned.
22. A flat sheet for use on a bed. You might think that Americans buy roughly the same number of fitted sheets as flats. Or, considering the market for electric blankets, duvets, and other covers, that consumers buy even more bottom sheets, simply forgoing the tops.
23. A flat, glossy children's book with few pages. This same publisher notes pricing is a crucial factor in the mass market field of $1, $1.95 and $2.95 "flats."
24. A platform on a wheel, upon which emblematic designs etc. are carried in processions.
25. A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.
26. A rectangular wooden structure covered with masonite, lauan, or muslin, often produced in standard modules, that is used to build wall surfaces on stage. Flats can be painted and outfitted with doors and/or windows to depict a building or other part of a scene, and are a hard-surfaced alternative to a backcloth or backdrop.
27. Any of various hesperiid butterflies that spread their wings open when they land.
28. historical An early kind of toy soldier having a flat design. Among the many US museums hosting flats, we may mention the Toy Soldier Museum in the Pocono Mountains, supervised by the historian, collector and dealer J. Hillestad.
29. obsolete A dull fellow; a simpleton. […] if you cannot make a speech, Because you are a flat, Go very quietly and drop A button in the hat!
30. abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of flat ride (“spinning amusement ride”).
31. A flat (i.e. plane) mirror "When sampling the aperture of a telescope, using auto-collimating flats (ACFs) is more economical"
32. slang A cheater's die with the edges shaved to make certain rolls more likely. He would slip in his six-ace flats, shaved dice that were made to bring up sevens. He'd throw them just long enough to get well, and then replace them with legitimate cubes.
33. British Columbia, Canadian Prairies A 24-case of beer.

Opposite: sharp, high heels

verb flats · flatting · flatted

1. slang To make a flat call; to call without raising.
2. intransitive To become flat or flattened; to sink or fall to an even surface.
3. colloquial, intransitive To fall from the pitch.
4. transitive To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone.
5. dated, transitive To make flat; to flatten; to level. And thus thoſe Forts vvhich vvere erected to defend the Crovvne, firſt offended the King, ſome fevv vvhereof as he recouered, he flatted to the ground, and vviſhed the other no higher vvalls; ſtill ſvvearing by Gods Birth (his vſuall Oath) hee vvould not ſlightly bee vnſeated of his Crovvne, and vvo
6. dated, transitive To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress. Passions are allayed, appetites are flatted.

noun flats

1. Australia, India, New England, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa A complete domicile occupying only part of a building, especially one for rent The excellence of French flats is so well known in America, that the owner will often refer to his property as "first class French flats."

   Similar: apartment

verb flats · flatting · flatted

1. obsolete, transitive To beat or strike; pound
2. transitive To dash or throw
3. intransitive To dash, rush