flak

noun

\ˈflak

variants: or less commonly flack

plural flak also flack

Definition of flak

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

In 2016, Ganim caught flak from Hillary Clinton’s campaign for greeting Trump backstage at Bridgeport’s Klein Auditorium before Trump’s campaign rally there. — Neil Vigdor, courant.com, "Joe Ganim Visits Detention Center Near Mexico Border, Calls Roundup Of Children "Un-American"," 21 June 2018 Didier Deschamps has copped so much flak for his team selections, yet his major tournament record reads.. — SI.com, "Why Didier Deschamps Is Still a Problem Regardless of Leading France to the World Cup Final," 12 July 2018 Yes, there was some right-wing flak confronting Kavanaugh’s name during the brief period of speculation over Trump’s choice. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Brett Kavanaugh Is a Safe Choice to Carry Out the GOP’s Extreme Supreme Court Agenda," 9 July 2018 The bomber on which Canty and McCaslin flew at 10,000 feet and had just begun its bombing run when the flak burst struck the aircraft’s bomb bay, McCaslin said. — David Owens, courant.com, "74 Years Later, Connecticut Airman Shot Down Over France In WW II To Get Proper Burial," 7 July 2018 Leach deleted his original tweet on Monday after taking so much flak for it. — Jenna West, SI.com, "Mike Leach Defends Tweeting Barack Obama Conspiracy Video From 2014," 18 June 2018 He's been heavily criticised in the aftermath of his dramatic reveal - and some of the flak has now been passed onto Pique. — SI.com, "Barcelona Chiefs Fume at Gerard Pique's Role in Antoine Griezmann's Decision to Reject Camp Nou," 15 June 2018 Kardashian West received flak in the media, but her meeting with Trump led to Johnson’s release from prison Wednesday. — Lindzi Scharf, latimes.com, "Kim Kardashian on managing life as a newfound social justice activist and cosmetics queen," 12 June 2018 The Department of Defense's 2017 budget is out, and the Air Force's version of the F-35 is taking flak. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "New Air Force Budget Cuts Down the F-35 Fleet," 9 Feb. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flak.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.