flat

¹flat

adjective \ˈflat\

flat·terflat·test

Definition of FLAT

1

a : lying at full length or spread out upon the ground : prostrate

b : utterly ruined or destroyed

c : resting with a surface against something

2

a : having a continuous horizontal surface

b : being or characterized by a horizontal line or tracing without peaks or depressions <a flat EEG>

3

: having a relatively smooth or even surface

4

: arranged or laid out so as to be level or even

5

a : having the major surfaces essentially parallel and distinctly greater than the minor surfaces <a flat piece of wood>

b of a shoe heel : very low and broad

6

a : clearly unmistakable <a flat denial>

b (1) : not varying : fixed <a flat rate> (2) : having no fraction either lacking or in excess : exact <in a flat 10 seconds> (3) of a frequency response : not varying significantly throughout its range

7

a : lacking in animation, zest, or vigor : dull

b : lacking flavor : tasteless

c : lacking effervescence or sparkle <flat ginger ale>

d : commercially inactive; also : characterized by no significant rise or decline from one period to another <sales were flat>

e of a tire : lacking air : deflated

f chiefly British of a battery : dead 3c, discharged

8

a (1) of a tone : lowered a half step in pitch (2) : lower than the proper pitch

b of the vowel a : pronounced as in bad or bat

9

a : having a low trajectory

b of a tennis stroke : made so as to give little or no spin to the ball

10

of a sail : taut

11

a : uniform in hue or shade

b : having little or no illusion of depth

c of a photograph or negative : lacking contrast

d of lighting conditions : lacking shadows or contours

e : free from gloss <a flat paint>

f : two-dimensional 3 <flat characters>

12

: of, relating to, or used in competition on the flat <a flat horse>

13

of a universe : having a mass such that expansion halts only after infinite time and collapse never occurs

— flat·ly adverb

— flat·ness noun

— flat·tish \ˈfla-tish\ adjective

Examples of FLAT

1. the flat top of the table
2. the flat landscape of the prairie
3. Coins are usually round and flat.
4. a flat piece of wood

Origin of FLAT

Middle English, from Old Norse flatr; akin to Old High German flaz flat, and probably to Greek platys broad — more at place

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to FLAT

Synonyms

exact, even, precise, round

Antonyms

absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting

Related Words

aseptic, barren, blah, dullish, pleasureless, prosaic, prosy, soggy, spiritless; blank, earthbound, gray (also grey), inanimate, pallid, pedantic, sterile, suspenseless, undramatic, uneventful, unexciting, unimaginative, uninspiring, unnewsworthy, unrewarding, unsensational, unspectacular; annoying, bothersome, irksome, irritating; longsome; palling; draining, enervating, exhausting, fatiguing, wearing; debilitating, enfeebling; demoralizing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting; common, commonplace, ordinary, tepid, unexceptional, unsurprising, vapid; cumbersome, lumbering, plodding, poky (or pokey)

Near Antonyms

approximate, comparative, near, relative; imprecise

See Synonym Discussion at level, insipid

Rhymes with FLAT

bat, batt, blat, brat, cat, Cat, chat, chert, drat, fat, frat, gat, gnat, hat, mat, Matt, matte, pat, phat, plait, plat, Pratt, rat, sat, scat, scatt, skat, slat, spat, splat, sprat, stat, tat, that, vat

²flat

noun

Definition of FLAT

1

a : a level surface of land —usually used in plural <sagebrush flats> <tidal flats>

b : a stretch of land without obstacles; especially : a track or course for a flat race —usually used with the <has won twice on the flat>

2

: a flat part or surface <the flat of one's hand>

3

a : a musical note or tone one half step lower than a specified note or tone

b : a character ♭ on a line or space of the musical staff indicating a half step drop in pitch

4

: something flat: as

a : a shallow container for shipping produce

b : a shallow box in which seedlings are started

c : a flat piece of theatrical scenery

d : a shoe or slipper having a flat heel or no heel

5

chiefly British : an apartment on one floor

6

: a deflated tire

7

: the area to either side of an offensive football formation

Examples of FLAT

1. the flat of your hand
2. the flat of a sword

First Known Use of FLAT

14th century

Related to FLAT

Synonyms

diggings [chiefly British], digs, apartment [chiefly British], lodgings, suite, tenement

Related Words

bed-sitter (also bedsit or bed-sitting-room) [British], cohousing, condo, condominium, duplex, duplex apartment, efficiency, efficiency apartment, flatlet [British], floor-through, garden apartment, granny flat [chiefly British], maisonette, penthouse, railroad flat, salon, saloon [chiefly British], studio, studio apartment, triplex, walk-up; gallery, wing; apartment building, apartment house, tenement house

³flat

adverb

Definition of FLAT

1

: in a flat manner : directly, positively

2

: in a complete manner : absolutely <flat broke>

3

: below the proper musical pitch

4

: without interest charge; especially : without allowance or charge for accrued interest <bonds sold flat>

Examples of FLAT

1. Lay the map flat on the desk.
2. He slipped and landed flat on his back.
3. We asked for more time but they turned us down flat.

First Known Use of FLAT

1531

Related to FLAT

Synonyms

all, all of, all over, altogether, clean, completely, dead, enough, entire, entirely, even, exactly, fast, fully, full, heartily, out, perfectly, plumb [chiefly dialect], quite, soundly, thoroughly, through and through, totally, utterly, well, wholly, wide

Antonyms

half, halfway, incompletely, part, partially, partly

Related Words

absolutely, categorically, cold, downright, hands down, plain, stone, stone-cold, unqualifiedly; basically, by and large, chiefly, generally, largely, mainly, more or less, mostly, overall, predominantly, predominately, primarily, principally, substantially; abundantly, copiously, generously, greatly

Near Antonyms

barely, hardly, just, kind of, marginally, minimally, scarcely, slightly, superficially; approximately, roughly, somewhat

⁴flat

verb

flat·tedflat·ting

Definition of FLAT

transitive verb

1

: flatten

2

: to lower in pitch especially by a half step

intransitive verb

: to sing or play below the true pitch

First Known Use of FLAT

circa 1604

flat

adjective \ˈflat\   (Medical Dictionary)

flat·terflat·test

Medical Definition of FLAT

1

: being or characterized by a horizontal line or tracing without peaks or depressions <the EEG is ominously flat indicating that her brain function is gone—Don Gold>

2

: characterized by general impoverishment in the presence of emotion-evoking stimuli <flat affect often occurs in schizophrenia>

—flat·ness noun