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Webster 1913 Edition

Flat

Flat

(flăt)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Flatter
(flăt′rẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Flattest
(flăt′tĕst)
.]
[Akin to Icel.
flatr
, Sw.
flat
, Dan.
flad
, OHG.
flaz
, and AS.
flet
floor, G.
flötz
stratum, layer.]
1.
Having an even and horizontal surface, or nearly so, without prominences or depressions; level without inclination; plane.
Though sun and moon
Were in the
flat
sea sunk.
Milton.
2.
Lying at full length, or spread out, upon the ground; level with the ground or earth; prostrate;
as, to lie
flat
on the ground
; hence, fallen; laid low; ruined; destroyed.
What ruins kingdoms, and lays cities
flat
!
Milton.
I feel . . . my hopes all
flat
.
Milton.
3.
(Fine Arts)
Wanting relief; destitute of variety; without points of prominence and striking interest.
A large part of the work is, to me, very
flat
.
Coleridge.
4.
Tasteless; stale; vapid; insipid; dead;
as, fruit or drink
flat
to the taste
.
5.
Unanimated; dull; uninteresting; without point or spirit; monotonous;
as, a
flat
speech or composition
.
How weary, stale,
flat
, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world.
Shakespeare
6.
Lacking liveliness of commercial exchange and dealings; depressed; dull;
as, the market is
flat
.
7.
Clear; unmistakable; peremptory; absolute; positive; downright.

Syn. – flat-out.
Flat
burglary as ever was committed.
Shakespeare
A great tobacco taker too, – that’s
flat
.
Marston.
8.
(Mus.)
(a)
Below the true pitch; hence, as applied to intervals, minor, or lower by a half step;
as, a
flat
seventh; A
flat
.
(b)
Not sharp or shrill; not acute;
as, a
flat
sound
.
9.
(Phonetics)
Sonant; vocal; – applied to any one of the sonant or vocal consonants, as distinguished from a nonsonant (or sharp) consonant.
Flat arch
.
(Arch.)
See under
Arch
,
Noun.
, 2. (b).
–
Flat cap
,
cap paper, not folded. See under
Paper
.
–
Flat chasing
,
in fine art metal working, a mode of ornamenting silverware, etc., producing figures by dots and lines made with a punching tool.
Knight.
–
Flat chisel
,
a sculptor's chisel for smoothing.
–
Flat file
,
a file wider than its thickness, and of rectangular section. See
File
.
–
Flat nail
,
a small, sharp-pointed, wrought nail, with a flat, thin head, larger than a tack.
Knight.
–
Flat paper
,
paper which has not been folded.
–
Flat rail
,
a railroad rail consisting of a simple flat bar spiked to a longitudinal sleeper.
–
Flat rods
(Mining)
,
horizontal or inclined connecting rods, for transmitting motion to pump rods at a distance.
Raymond.
–
Flat rope
,
a rope made by plaiting instead of twisting; gasket; sennit.
Some flat hoisting ropes, as for mining shafts, are made by sewing together a number of ropes, making a wide, flat band
.
Knight.
–
Flat space
.
(Geom.)
See
Euclidian space
.
–
Flat stitch
,
the process of wood engraving.
[Obs.]
–
Flat tint
(Painting)
,
a coat of water color of one uniform shade.
–
To fall flat
(Fig.)
,
to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect;
as, his speech
fell flat
.

Of all who fell by saber or by shot,
Not one
fell
half so
flat
as Walter Scott.
Lord Erskine.

Flat

,
adv.
1.
In a flat manner; directly; flatly.
Sin is
flat
opposite to the Almighty.
Herbert.
2.
(Stock Exchange)
Without allowance for accrued interest.
[Broker's Cant]

Flat

,
Noun.
1.
A level surface, without elevation, relief, or prominences; an extended plain; specifically, in the United States, a level tract along the along the banks of a river;
as, the Mohawk
Flats
.
Envy is as the sunbeams that beat hotter upon a bank, or steep rising ground, than upon a
flat
.
Bacon.
2.
A level tract lying at little depth below the surface of water, or alternately covered and left bare by the tide; a shoal; a shallow; a strand.
Half my power, this night
Passing these
flats
, are taken by the tide.
Shakespeare
3.
Something broad and flat in form
; as:
(a)
A flat-bottomed boat, without keel, and of small draught.
(b)
A straw hat, broad-brimmed and low-crowned.
(c)
(Railroad Mach.)
A car without a roof, the body of which is a platform without sides; a platform car.
(d)
A platform on wheel, upon which emblematic designs, etc., are carried in processions.
4.
The flat part, or side, of anything; as, the broad side of a blade, as distinguished from its edge.
6.
(Mining)
A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.
Raymond.
7.
A dull fellow; a simpleton; a numskull.
[Colloq.]
Or if you can not make a speech,
Because you are a
flat
.
Holmes.
8.
(Mus.)
A character [♭] before a note, indicating a tone which is a half step or semitone lower.
9.
(Geom.)
A homaloid space or extension.

Flat

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Flatted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Flatting
.]
1.
To make flat; to flatten; to level.
2.
To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress.
Passions are allayed, appetites are
flatted
.
Barrow.
3.
To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone.

Flat

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To become flat, or flattened; to sink or fall to an even surface.
Sir W. Temple.
2.
(Mus.)
To fall form the pitch.
To flat out
,
to fail from a promising beginning; to make a bad ending; to disappoint expectations.
[Colloq.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Flat

FLAT

,
Adj.
[L. latus, broad; Gr.; Eng. blade.]
1.
Having an even surface, without risings or indentures, hills or valleys; as flat land.
2.
Horizontal; level; without inclination; as a flat roof; or with a moderate inclination or slope; for we often apply the word to the roof of a house that is not steep, though inclined.
3.
Prostrate; lying the whole length on the ground. He fell or lay flat on the ground.
4.
Not elevated or erect; fallen.
Cease t'admire, and beauty's plumes fall flat.
5.
Level with the ground; totally fallen.
What ruins kingdoms, and lays cities flat.
6.
In painting, wanting relief or prominence of the figures.
7.
Tasteless; stale; vapid; insipid; dead; as fruit flat to the taste.
8.
Dull; unanimated; frigid; without point or spirit; applied to discourses and compositions. The sermon was very flat.
9.
Depressed; spiritless; dejected.
I feel - my hopes all flat.
10.
Unpleasing; not affording gratification.
How flat and insipid are all the pleasures of this life!
11.
Peremptory; absolute; positive; downright. He gave the petitioner a flat denial.
Thus repulsed, our final hope is flat despair.
12.
Not sharp or shrill; not acute; as a flat sound.
13.
Low, as the prices of goods; or dull, as sales.

FLAT

,
Noun.
1.
A level or extended plain. In America, it is applied particularly to low ground or meadow that is level, but it denotes any land of even surface and of some extent.
2.
A level ground lying at a small depth under the surface of water; a shoal; a shallow; a strand; a sand bank under water.
3.
The broad side of a blade.
4.
Depression of thought or language.
5.
A surface without relief or prominences.
6.
In music, a mark of depression in sound. A flat denotes a fall or depression of half a tone.
7.
A boat, broad and flat-bottomed. A flat-bottomed boat is constructed for conveying passengers or troops, horses, carriages and baggage.

FLAT

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To level; to depress; to lay smooth or even; to make broad and smooth; to flatten.
2.
To make vapid or tasteless.
3.
To make dull or unanimated.

FLAT

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To grow flat; to fall to an even surface.
2.
To become insipid, or dull and unanimated.

Definition 2024

flat

flat

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

flat ‎(comparative flatter, superlative flattest)

  1. Having no variations in height.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess:
      The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].
    The land around here is flat.‎
  2. (music, voice) Without variations in pitch.
  3. (slang) Describing certain features, usually the breasts and/or buttocks, that are extremely small or not visible at all.
    That girl is completely flat on both sides.‎
  4. (music, note) Lowered by one semitone.
  5. (music) Of a note or voice, lower in pitch than it should be.
  6. (of a tire or other inflated object) Deflated, especially because of a puncture.
  7. Uninteresting.
    The party was a bit flat.‎
    • Coleridge
      A large part of the work is, to me, very flat.
    • Shakespeare
      How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world.
  8. Of a carbonated drink, with all or most of its carbon dioxide having come out of solution so that the drink no longer fizzes or contains any bubbles.
  9. (wine) Lacking acidity without being sweet.
  10. (of a battery) Unable to emit power; dead.
  11. (juggling, of a throw) Without spin; spinless.
  12. Lacking liveliness of commercial exchange and dealings; depressed; dull.
    The market is flat.
  13. Absolute; downright; peremptory.
    His claim was in flat contradiction to experimental results.‎
    I'm not going to the party and that's flat.‎
    • Shakespeare
      flat burglary as ever was committed
    • Marston
      A great tobacco taker too, — that's flat.
  14. (phonetics, dated, of a consonant) sonant; vocal, as distinguished from a sharp (non-sonant) consonant
  15. (grammar) Not having an inflectional ending or sign, such as a noun used as an adjective, or an adjective as an adverb, without the addition of a formative suffix, or an infinitive without the sign "to".
    Many flat adverbs, as in 'run fast', 'buy cheap', etc. are from Old English.
  16. (golf, of a golf club) Having a head at a very obtuse angle to the shaft.
  17. (horticulture, of certain fruits) Flattening at the ends.
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • (having no variations in altitude): bumpy, cratered, hilly (of terrain), rough (of a surface), wrinkled (of a surface)
  • (music: lowered by one semitone): sharp
  • (music: lower in pitch than it should be): sharp
Derived terms
Translations
of a body part having no projection
  • Catalan: xato (ca) m
  • Maori: kenu (refers to the nose), parahe (refers to the nose), pongare (refers to the nose)

Adverb

flat ‎(comparative more flat, superlative most flat)

  1. So as to be flat.
    Spread the tablecloth flat over the table.
  2. Bluntly.
    I asked him if he wanted to marry me and he turned me down flat.
  3. (with units of time, distance, etc) Not exceeding.
    He can run a mile in four minutes flat.
  4. Completely.
    I am flat broke this month.
  5. Directly; flatly.
    • Herbert
      Sin is flat opposite to the Almighty.
  6. (finance, slang) Without allowance for accrued interest.
Synonyms
Translations

Noun

A flat tire

flat ‎(plural flats)

  1. An area of level ground.
    • Francis Bacon
      Envy is as the sunbeams that beat hotter upon a bank, or steep rising ground, than upon a flat.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 3, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.
  2. (music) A note played a semitone lower than a natural, denoted by the symbol ♭ sign placed after the letter representing the note (e.g., B♭) or in front of the note symbol (e.g. ♭♪).
  3. (informal, automotive) A flat tyre/tire.
  4. (in the plural) A type of ladies' shoes with very low heels.
    She liked to walk in her flats more than in her high heels.‎
  5. (painting) A thin, broad brush used in oil and watercolor/watercolour painting.
  6. The flat part of something:
    1. (swordfighting) The flat side of a blade, as opposed to the sharp edge.
    2. The palm of the hand, with the adjacent part of the fingers.
  7. A wide, shallow container.
    a flat of strawberries‎
  8. (geometry) A subset of n-dimensional space that is congruent to a Euclidean space of lower dimension.
  9. A flat-bottomed boat, without keel, and of small draught.
  10. A straw hat, broad-brimmed and low-crowned.
  11. (US) A railroad car without a roof, and whose body is a platform without sides; a platform car or flatcar.
  12. A platform on a wheel, upon which emblematic designs etc. are carried in processions.
  13. (mining) A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Raymond to this entry?)
  14. (obsolete) A dull fellow; a simpleton.
    • Holmes
      Or if you cannnot make a speech, / Because you are a flat.
  15. (technical, theatre) A rectangular wooden structure covered with masonite, lauan, or muslin that depicts a building or other part of a scene, also called backcloth and backdrop.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

flat ‎(third-person singular simple present flats, present participle flatting, simple past and past participle flatted)

  1. (poker slang) To make a flat call; to call without raising.
  2. (intransitive) To become flat or flattened; to sink or fall to an even surface.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir W. Temple to this entry?)
  3. (intransitive, music, colloquial) To fall from the pitch.
  4. (transitive, music) To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone.
  5. (transitive, dated) To make flat; to flatten; to level.
  6. (transitive, dated) To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress.
    • Barrow
      Passions are allayed, appetites are flatted.

Etymology 2

A block of flats (apartments) in Wrocław

From 1795, alteration of Scots flet ‎(“inner part of a house”), from Middle English flet ‎(“dwelling”), from Old English flet, flett ‎(“ground floor, dwelling”), from Proto-Germanic *flatją ‎(“floor”), from Proto-Germanic *flataz ‎(“flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *plat- ‎(“flat”). Akin to Old Frisian flet, flette ‎(“dwelling, house”). More at flet, flat1.

Noun

flat ‎(plural flats)

  1. (chiefly Britain, New England, New Zealand and Australia, archaic elsewhere) An apartment, usually on one level and usually consisting of more than one room.
    • 1905, Sydney Perks, Residential flats of all classes, including artisans' dwellings: a practical treatise on their planning and arrangement, together with chapters on their history, financial matters, etc.,with numerous illustrations, page 204,
      The excellence of French flats is so well known in America, that the owner will often refer to his property as "first class French flats."
    • 1983, Tai Ching Ling, Relocation and Population Planning: A Study of the Implications of Public Housing and Family Planning in Singapore, Wilfredo F. Arce, Gabriel C. Alvarez (editors), Population Change in Southeast Asia, page 184,
      Fifteen percent of this group said that they were not satisfied with the public housing estates and their HDB[Singapore Housing & Development Board]flats (see Tables 11 and 12 respectively).
    • 2002, MIchael Ottley, Briefcase on Company Law, page 76,
      The Greater London Council formed the Estmanco company to manage a block of 60 council-owned flats. The council entered into an agreement with the company to sell off the flats to owner-occupiers.
    • 2014, Terry Gourvish, Dolphin Square: The History of a Unique Building, page 75,
      When the Dolphin Square's flats were first offered to the public in 1936, the South Block was still under construction, and the North Block was a building site.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

References

  1. ↑ Flat in Online Etymology Dictionary
  2. ↑ Sanskrit, OHG and Greek cognates named

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • (Hollandic) IPA(key): /ˈflɛt/
  • (Belgian Dutch) IPA(key): /ˈflɑt/
  • (Hollandic)

Etymology

Borrowing from English flat.

Noun

flat m ‎(plural flats, diminutive flatje n)

  1. flat, apartment
  2. tower block

Derived terms

Latin

Verb

flat

  1. third-person singular present active indicative of flō

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse flatr

Adjective

flat ‎(neuter singular flatt, definite singular and plural flate, comparative flatere, indefinite superlative flatest, definite superlative flateste)

  1. flat

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse flatr

Adjective

flat ‎(neuter singular flatt, definite singular and plural flate, comparative flatare, indefinite superlative flatast, definite superlative flataste)

  1. flat

References

Old English

Pronunciation

Verb

flāt

  1. first-person singular preterite form of flītan
  2. third-person singular preterite form of flītan

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

flat m ‎(genitive singular flat, plural flataichean)

  1. saucer
  2. flat, apartment

Synonyms

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical Lenition
flat fhlat
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse flatr, from Proto-Germanic *flataz, from Proto-Indo-European *plat- ‎(“flat”).

Adjective

flat

  1. flat (having no variations in altitude)
    Solen reflekterades i spegelns flata yta.
    The sun was reflected in the flat surface of the mirror.
  2. spineless, being a doormat, abstaining from defending one's convictions
    Han var alldeles för flat mot chefen, och fick inte heller någon löneökning.
    He let the manager walk all over him and did not get a raise.

Declension

Inflection of flat
Indefinite/attributive Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular flat flatare flatast
Neuter singular flatt flatare flatast
Plural flata flatare flatast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 flate flatare flataste
All flata flatare flataste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in an attributive role.

Synonyms

  • (flat): platt
  • (spineless): eftergiven, mjäkig

Etymology

From Middle English flat, from Old Norse flatr[1] (Norwegian and Swedish flat, Danish flad), from Proto-Germanic *flataz, from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- ‎(“flat”); akin to Saterland Frisian flot ‎(“smooth”), German Flöz ‎(“a geological layer”), Ancient Greek πλατύς ‎(platús), Latvian plats, Sanskrit प्रथस् ‎(prathas, “extension”)[2].

Pronunciation

  • enPR: flăt, IPA(key): /flæt/
  • Rhymes: -æt
  • IPA(key): /flɑːt/

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