1
a
: a defect in physical structure or form
a diamond with a flaw
b
: an imperfection or weakness and especially one that detracts from the whole or hinders effectiveness
vanity was the flaw in his character
a flaw in the book's plot
2
obsolete
: fragment
flawed; flawing; flaws
: to become defective
1
: a sudden brief burst of wind
the wind changed with flaws from westward—
Archibald MacLeish
Archibald MacLeish
also
: a spell of stormy weather
2
obsolete
: an outburst especially of passion
Examples of flaw in a Sentence
Noun (1)
noted the flaw in the diamond before I bought it
Verb
that crack has flawed the vase to the extent that its value in the antiques market is greatly reduced
Recent Examples on the Web
Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
If a healthcare organization is building AI initiatives using data from a repository filled with errors or gaps, the resulting output will be flawed.
—David Lareau, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Tom Brown, Space.com, 29 June 2025
Many cities have also not acted on requiring retrofits of other types of potentially vulnerable buildings, including those that have certain flaws to their concrete or steel frames.
—Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for flaw
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Our ability to detect effort has always been flawed.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
If a healthcare organization is building AI initiatives using data from a repository filled with errors or gaps, the resulting output will be flawed.
—David Lareau, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Noun
However, the study has been widely criticized due to a major flaw: Hurricanes only started receiving male names in 1979, but the 2014 study used 60 years' of hurricane damages, skewing the data.
—Tom Brown, Space.com, 29 June 2025
Many cities have also not acted on requiring retrofits of other types of potentially vulnerable buildings, including those that have certain flaws to their concrete or steel frames.
—Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for flaw
Cite this Entry
“Flaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flaw. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
flaw
1 of 2 noun
: a small often hidden defect
flawless
adjective
-ləs
flawlessly
adverb
flawlessness
noun
flaw
2 of 2 verb
: to make or become defective
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share