flak

noun \ ˈflak \

variants: or less commonly flack

Definition of flak

plural flak also flack

1 :antiaircraft guns

2 :the bursting shells fired from flak

3 or less commonly flack :criticism, opposition

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See flak defined for kids

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 of flak from the Web

Hawley has been catching flak from conservatives for not attending Trump’s event.

— bryan lowry and jason hancock, kansascity, "Trump: If McCaskill doesn’t support tax cuts, ‘you have to vote her out of office’," 30 Aug. 2017
For a man who has come back from a horrendous leg break, and has scored the winning goal in two FA Cup finals, Ramsey gets a huge amount of flak from Arsenal fans and much of it is largely undeserved.

— SI.com, "Why Aaron Ramsey Is Being Restricted by Arsene Wenger and Deserves Less Criticism," 29 Aug. 2017
In early 2016, Facebook took a lot of flak for its alleged downplaying of right-leaning stories in its trending news list.

— david meyer, Fortune, "Facebook Axed Anonymous Company Chat Group Over Harassment," 17 Aug. 2017
Numerous protesters came prepared, wearing helmets and flak jackets and charging into crowds holding plastic riot shields.

— gabe cavallaro, Cincinnati.com, "Car that hit Charlottesville crowd purchased in Florence, registered in Ohio, online records show," 12 Aug. 2017
Numerous protesters came prepared, wearing helmets and flak jackets and charging into crowds holding plastic riot shields.

— gabe cavallaro, The Courier-Journal, "1 dead, 19 injured as car hits crowd after a 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville," 12 Aug. 2017
Yet despite his acquiescence to almost all of the Trump agenda, Flake has drawn plenty of flak from his right.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Jeff Flake Draws Top-Tier Dem Challenger for 2018," 11 Aug. 2017
The beaches reopened after the holiday, but not without Gov. Christie catching some significant flak for his own trip to the beach.

— nick vadala, Philly.com, "Kellyanne Conway spotted having another beach day down the Jersey Shore," 7 Aug. 2017
After catching flak for reacting to incomplete footage, Rowling did apologize.

— the tylt, AL.com, "Is J.K. Rowling's Twitter feed better than 'Harry Potter'?," 2 Aug. 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of flak

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1938

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Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

FLAK Defined for English Language Learners

flak

noun

Definition of flak for English Language Learners

: exploding shells that are shot at enemy aircraft from guns on the ground
: harsh criticism

Learn More about flak

See words that rhyme with flak Spanish Central: Translation of flak Nglish: Translation of flak for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of flak for Arabic speakers

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