1flat1 (flæt
)
Definitions
adjective
Word forms: flatter, flattest
- horizontal; level ⇒
flat ground
a flat roof
- even or smooth, without projections or depressions ⇒
a flat surface
- lying stretched out at full length; prostrate ⇒
he lay flat on the ground
- having little depth or thickness; shallow ⇒
a flat dish
- (postpositive) against having a surface or side in complete contact with another surface ⇒
flat against the wall
- spread out, unrolled, or levelled
- (of a tyre) deflated, either partially or completely
- (of shoes) having an unraised or only slightly raised heel
- mainly British
- (of races, racetracks, or racecourses) not having obstacles to be jumped
- of, relating to, or connected with flat racing as opposed to steeplechasing and hurdling ⇒
flat jockeys earn more
- without qualification; total ⇒
a flat denial
- without possibility of change; fixed ⇒
a flat rate
- (prenominal or immediately postpositive) neither more nor less; exact ⇒
he did the journey in thirty minutes flat
a flat thirty minutes
- unexciting or lacking point or interest ⇒
a flat joke
- without variation or resonance; monotonous ⇒
a flat voice
- (of food) stale or tasteless
- (of beer, sparkling wines, etc) having lost effervescence, as by exposure to air
- (of trade, business, a market, etc) commercially inactive; sluggish
- (of a battery) fully discharged; dead
- (of a print, photograph, or painting) lacking contrast or shading between tones
- (of paint) without gloss or lustre; matt
- (of a painting) lacking perspective
- (of lighting) diffuse
- music
- (immediately postpositive) denoting a note of a given letter name (or the sound it represents) that has been lowered in pitch by one chromatic semitone ⇒
B flat
- (of an instrument, voice, etc) out of tune by being too low in pitch Compare sharp (sense 12)
- (immediately postpositive) denoting a note of a given letter name (or the sound it represents) that has been lowered in pitch by one chromatic semitone ⇒
- phonetics another word for lenis
- See flat a
adverb
- in or into a prostrate, level, or flat state or position ⇒
he held his hand out flat
- completely or utterly; absolutely ⇒
he went flat against the rules
- exactly; precisely ⇒
in three minutes flat
- music
- lower than a standard pitch
- too low in pitch ⇒
she sings flat
Compare sharp (sense 18)
- See fall flat
- See flat out
noun
- a flat object, surface, or part
- (often plural) a low-lying tract of land, esp a marsh or swamp
- (often plural) a mud bank exposed at low tide
- music
- an accidental that lowers the pitch of the following note by one chromatic semitone Usual symbol
♭ - a note affected by this accidental Compare sharp (sense 19)
- an accidental that lowers the pitch of the following note by one chromatic semitone Usual symbol
- theatre a rectangular wooden frame covered with painted canvas, etc, used to form part of a stage setting
- a punctured car tyre
- mainly British See the flat
- nautical a flatboat or lighter
- US Canadian a shallow box or container, used for holding plants, growing seedlings, etc
verb
Word forms: flats, flatting, flatted
- to make or become flat
- music the usual US word for flatten (sense 3)
See also
flatsAlternative Forms
ˈflatly adverb ˈflatness nounWord Origin
C14: from Old Norse flatr ; related to Old High German flaz flat, Greek platus flat, broadSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
horizontal,
prone,
outstretched,
reclining,
prostrate,
laid low
supine,
recumbent,
lying full length
=
shallow,
not deep
=
still,
no longer fizzy
=
absolute,
firm,
direct,
straight,
positive,
fixed,
plain,
final,
explicit,
definite,
outright,
unconditional,
downright,
unmistakable,
unequivocal,
unqualified,
out-and-out,
categorical,
peremptory,
=
dull,
dead,
empty,
boring,
depressing,
pointless,
tedious,
stale,
lacklustre,
tiresome,
lifeless,
monotonous,
uninteresting,
insipid,
unexciting,
spiritless,
= without energy
empty,
weak,
tired,
depressed,
drained,
weary,
worn out,
dispirited,
downhearted,
tired out,
=
monotonous,
boring,
uniform,
dull,
tedious,
droning,
tiresome,
unchanging,
colourless,
toneless,
samey,
uninflected
unvaried,
=
completely,
directly,
absolutely,
categorically,
precisely,
exactly,
utterly,
outright,
point blank
unequivocally,
2flat2 (flæt)
Definitions
noun
- a set of rooms comprising a residence entirely on one floor of a building Usual US and Canadian name
apartment - British New Zealand a portion of a house used as separate living quarters
- New Zealand a house shared with people who are not members of one's own family
verb
Word forms: flats, flatting, flatted
(intr) - Australian New Zealand to live in a flat (with someone)
Word Origin
Old English flett floor, hall, house; related to flatOld English floor, hall, house; related to 1Synonyms
View thesaurus entryTranslations
- British English:
flat
Something that is flat is level and smooth.The sea was calm, perfectly flat.flæt ADJECTIVE The sea was calm, perfectly flat.
- Spanish:
plano
adj plana
- French:
plat
adj
- German:
flach
adj
- Chinese: 平坦的 adj
- Arabic: مُنْبَسَط adj
- Portuguese: nivelado adj nivelada
- Russian: плоский adj плоская
- Croatian: ravan adj ravna
- Czech: plochý adj
- Danish: flad adj
- Dutch: plat adj
- Finnish: litteä adj
- Greek: επίπεδος adj επίπεδη
- Italian: piatto adj
- Japanese: 平らな no_posp
- Korean: 편평한 adj
- Norwegian: flat adj
- Polish: płaski adj płaska
- Brazilian Portuguese: nivelado adj nivelada
- European Spanish:
plano
adj plana
- Swedish: platt adj
- Thai: ราบ adj
- Turkish: düz adj
- Vietnamese: phẳng adj
- British English:
flat
A flat is a set of rooms for living in, that is part of a larger building....my two-bedroom flat.flæt NOUN ...my two-bedroom flat.
- Spanish:
piso
nm
- French:
appartement
nm
- German:
Wohnung
nf
- Chinese: 公寓 n
- Arabic: شَقَّة n
- Portuguese: apartamento nm
- Russian: квартира nf
- Croatian: stan nm
- Czech: byt nm
- Danish: lejlighed nutr
- Dutch: vlak nnt
- Finnish: asunto n
- Greek: διαμέρισμα nnt
- Italian: appartamento nm
- Japanese: フラット n
- Korean: 평면 n
- Norwegian: leilighet nm
- Polish: mieszkanie nnt
- Brazilian Portuguese: apartamento nm
- European Spanish:
piso
nm
- Swedish: lägenhet nutr
- Thai: ที่ราบ n
- Turkish: apartman dairesi n
- Vietnamese: căn hộ n
Usage examples
From a distance, the northern plains looked as flat and featureless as a tabletop.
, TREASON KEEP (2001)3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sitting room, dining room, kitchen/ family room, small flat.
Country Life (2004)In September 1999, Mr McMahon and Mr Lennon came to her flat.
Irish Times (2002)Off a separate landing are two more bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen, which have been used as an integral flat.
Glasgow Herald (2001)But within a quarter of a mile of the line the breeze suddenly dropped and the Derwent was as flat as a millpond.
, FATAL STORM (2001)