flak

noun

ˈflak 

variants or less commonly flack

plural flak also flack

1

: antiaircraft guns

2

: the bursting shells fired from flak

3

: criticism, opposition

She has taken a good deal of flak for espousing that view.

—E. J. Kahn, Jr.

When I was a restaurant bar manager I sometimes found myself taking flak from my customers for our high prices …

—Rob Hill

Examples of flak in a Sentence

He caught heavy flak for his decision to oppose the new school.

He took a lot of flak from the other kids for his unusual appearance.

Recent Examples on the Web

For his part, the president took some flak following the funeral service for wearing a blue suit and tie, rather than the traditional black. —Meredith Kile, People.com, 29 Apr. 2025

The organization took a ton of flak for removing a tribute to Roberto Clemente in right field early last month. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2025

Gobert has received a ton of flak over the years for his offensive output, especially in the playoffs. —Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025

Rodón receives lots of flak from the fan base for his inconsistency, but he’s been quite good dating back to last season’s All-Star break. —Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 1 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

German, from Fliegerabwehrkanonen, from Flieger flyer + Abwehr defense + Kanonen cannons

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing flak

• flak jacket

Rhymes for flak

• ack
• brack
• clack
• crack
• dak
• flack
• hack
• jack
• knack
• lac
• lack
• lak

Kids Definition

flak

noun

variants also flack

ˈflak

plural flak also flack

1

: antiaircraft guns or the bursting shells fired from them

2

: severe criticism

Etymology

derived from the German word for "antiaircraft guns," from the first letters of Flieger "flier" and Abwehr "defense" and Kanonen "cannons"