fall flat

phrase

: to produce no response or result

the joke fell flat

Examples of fall flat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And for all the chatter, Jenna and Val’s first routine kind of falls flat anyway. — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026

Instead, the administration has proposed cutting more than 9,400 of my fellow workers and launched a new effort to privatize TSA — Horizon 25 — after the TSA Gold+ privatization campaign fell flat. — Hydrick Thomas, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026

The stabs at humor also fall flat, even if the gimmick of a priest injecting his enemies with a serum that obliges them to attend mass every Sunday is kind of fun the first time, but not really the second or third. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026

Challenges to General Assembly incumbents fell flat Anti-incumbent sentiment didn't trickle down to the General Assembly, where the small number of incumbents facing primary challenges all held on to their seats. — Antonia Noori Farzan, The Providence Journal, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fall flat

• begat
• bobcat
• chitchat
• doormat
• ducat
• eclat
• format
• hazmat
• muskrat
• nonfat
• polecat
• thereat