English
flat
Pronunciation Etymology 1

From Middle English flat, a borrowing from Old Norse flatr (compare Norwegian and Swedish flat, Danish flad), from Proto-Germanic *flataz, from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-; akin to Saterland Frisian flot, German Flöz, Ancient Greek πλατύς, Latvian plats, Sanskrit प्रथस्.

The noun is from Middle English flat, from the adjective.

The algebraic sense was coined by Jean-Pierre Serre in Algebraic_geometry_and_analytic_geometry#GAGA, originally as French plat.

Adjective

flat (comparative flatter, superlative flattest)

  1. Having no variations in height.
    The land around here is flat.
    1. In a horizontal line or plane; not sloping.
      a flat roof
    2. Smooth; having no protrusions, indentations or other surface irregularities, or relatively so.
      The surface of the mirror must be completely flat.
      The carpet isn't properly flat in that corner.
      She has quite a flat face.
      • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC ↗:
        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.  […] .
    3. (slang) Having small or invisible breasts and/or buttocks.
      That girl is completely flat on both sides.
  2. Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc.
    The exchange rate has been flat for several weeks.
    1. At a consistently depressed level; consistently lacklustre.
      Sales have been flat all year, and we've barely broken even.
    2. (not comparable, commerce) Of fees, fares etc., fixed; unvarying.
      a flat fee
      flat rates
      a flat fare on public transport
    3. (music, voice) Without variations in pitch.
      He delivered the speech in a flat tone.
    4. (of colours) Without variation in tone or hue (uniform), and dull (not glossy).
      The walls were painted a flat gray.
      Synonyms: matte
  3. (figurative) Lacking liveliness or action; depressed; uninteresting; dull and boring.
    The party was a bit flat.
    The market is flat today as most traders are on holiday.
    The dialogue in your screenplay is flat — you need to make it more exciting.
    • February 16, 1833, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Table Talk
      A large part of the work is, to me, very flat.
    • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene ii]:
      How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world.
    1. (authorship, figuratively, especially, of a character) Lacking in depth, substance, or believability; underdeveloped; one-dimensional.
      Antonyms: round
      The author added a chapter to flesh out the book's flatter characters.
  4. (music, note) Lowered by one semitone.
  5. (music) Of a note or voice, lower in pitch than it should be.
    Your A string is flat.
  6. Absolute; downright; peremptory.
    His claim was in flat contradiction to experimental results.
    I'm not going to the party and that's flat.
    • 1589–1592 (date written), Ch[ristopher] Marl[owe], The Tragicall History of D. Faustus. […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Thomas Bushell, published 1604, →OCLC ↗, signature [B4], recto ↗:
      Wag[ner]. Vilaine, call me Maiſter Wagner, and let thy left eye be diametarily fixt vpon my right heele, with quaſi veſtigias nostras inſistere [as if to follow in our footsteps]. / Clo[wn]: God forgiue me, he ſpeakes Dutch fuſtian: / well, Ile folow him, Ile ſerue him, thats flat.
    • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene ii]:
      SECOND WATCH. Marry, that he had received a thousand ducats of Don John for accusing the Lady Hero wrongfully.
      DOGBERRY. Flat burglary as ever was committed
    • 1602, John Marston, Antonio and Mellida, Malone Society Reprint, 1921, Act I, lines 324-326,
      He is made like a tilting staffe; and lookes
      For all the world like an ore-rosted pigge:
      A great Tobacco taker too, thats flat.
  7. (of a tire or other inflated object) Deflated, especially because of a puncture.
  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. (phonetics, dated, of a consonant) Sonant; vocal, as distinguished from a sharp (non-sonant) consonant.
  13. (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.
  14. (golf, of a golf club) Having a head at a very obtuse angle to the shaft.
  15. (horticulture, of certain fruits) Flattening at the ends.
  16. (of measurements of time) Exact.
    He finished the race in a flat four minutes.
  17. (homological algebra, of a module) Such that the tensor product preserves exact sequences. .
  18. (algebra, ring theory, of a ring homomorphism) Such that its target, regarded as a module over its source, is flat (as above).
  19. (algebraic geometry, scheme theory, of a morphism of schemes) Such that the induced map on every stalk is flat (as a map of rings).
    Hyponym: faithfully flat
Synonyms Antonyms
  • (antonym(s) of “having no variations in altitude”): bumpy, cratered, hilly (of terrain), rough (of a surface), wrinkled (of a surface)
  • (antonym(s) of “music: lowered by one semitone”): sharp
  • (antonym(s) of “music: lower in pitch than it should be”): sharp
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • French: plat
  • German: schal
  • Italian: sgasata
  • Portuguese: sem gás
  • Spanish: sin gas
Translations Adverb

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. (of accurately measured timings) Exactly, precisely.
    In the mile race, Smith's time was 3:58.56, and Brown's was four minutes flat.
  4. (with units of time, distance, etc) Used to emphasize the smallness of the measurement.
    He can run a mile in four minutes flat.
  5. Completely.
    I am flat broke this month.
  6. Directly; flatly.
    • [1633], George Herbert, edited by [Nicholas Ferrar], The Temple. Sacred Poems, and Private Ejaculations, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel; and are to be sold by Francis Green, […], →OCLC ↗:
      Sin is flat opposite to the Almighty.
  7. (finance, slang) Without allowance for accrued interest.
    The bonds are trading flat.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

flat (plural flats)

  1. An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water).
    The hovercraft skimmed across the open flats.
    the eastern end of the salt flat; mud flat, tidal flat, flood flat
    • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Envy”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC ↗:
      Envy is as the sunbeams that beat hotter upon a bank, or steep rising ground, than upon a flat.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC ↗:
      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.
    1. (in the phrase 'the flat') Level ground in general.
      I can run on the flat but not up hills.
      The going will be easier once we're through these mountains and onto the flat.
    2. (horse racing, with 'the' or attributively, sometimes with capital) Level horse-racing ground, as contrasted with courses incorporating jumps, or the racing done on such ground.
      This horse will do better over the flat.
      flat racing, the flat season
      • 2020, Brian Sheerin, Racing Post, "Gordon Elliott maps out summer Flat campaigns for talented jumpers" (article)
        In light of Horse Racing Ireland's Covid-19 contingency plan announcement, that whenever racing resumes the Flat will be given priority, Elliott has decided to keep a number of talented jumpers on the go during the summer, with a view towards a dual-purpose campaign.
      • 2021 (retrieved), racing365.com, "Flat Racing Explained"
        In British horse racing, the classics are a series of horse races run over the flat (i.e. without jumps).
    3. (AU, horse racing, with 'the' or attributively, sometimes with capital) the area in the centre of a racecourse.
  2. (music) A note played one chromatic semitone lower than a natural, denoted by the symbol ♭ placed after the letter representing the note (e.g., B♭) or in front of the note symbol (e.g. ♭♪).
    The key of E♭ has three flats.
  3. (informal, automotive) A flat tyre/flat tire.
    • 2012 July 15, Richard Williams, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track‎, Guardian Unlimited:
      The next one surrendered his bike, only for that, too, to give him a second flat as he started the descent.
  4. (in the plural) A type of ladies' shoe with a very low heel.
    She liked to walk in her flats more than in her high heels.
  5. (in the plural) A type of flat-soled running shoe without spikes.
  6. (painting) A thin, broad brush used in oil and watercolour painting.
  7. 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.
  8. A wide, shallow container or pallet.
    a flat of strawberries
  9. (mail) A large mail piece measuring at least 8 1/2 by 11 inches, such as catalogs, magazines, and unfolded paper enclosed in large envelopes.
  10. (rail, US) A railroad car without a roof, and whose body is a platform without sides; a platform car or flatcar.
  11. (rail) A flat spot on the wheel of a rail vehicle.
  12. A flat-bottomed boat, without keel, and of small draught.
  13. (geometry) A subset of n-dimensional space that is congruent to a Euclidean space of lower dimension.
  14. A straw hat, broad-brimmed and low-crowned.
  15. A flat sheet for use on a bed.
  16. (publishing) A flat, glossy children's book with few pages.
    • 1970, The Publishers Weekly, volume 197, page 85:
      This same publisher notes pricing is a crucial factor in the mass market field of $1, $1.95 and $2.95 "flats."
  17. A platform on a wheel, upon which emblematic designs etc. are carried in processions.
  18. (mining) A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.
  19. (technical, theatre, stagecraft) A rectangular wooden structure covered with masonite, lauan, or muslin, often produced in standard modules, that is used to build wall surfaces on stage. Flats can be painted and outfitted with doors and/or windows to depict a building or other part of a scene, and are a hard-surfaced alternative to a backcloth or backdrop.
  20. (entomology) Any of various hesperiid butterflies that spread their wings open when they land.
  21. (historical) An early kind of toy soldier having a flat design.
    • 2019, Luigi Toiati, The History of Toy Soldiers, page 78:
      Among the many US museums hosting flats, we may mention the Toy Soldier Museum in the Pocono Mountains, supervised by the historian, collector and dealer J. Hillestad.
  22. (obsolete) A dull fellow; a simpleton.
    • 1836, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., The Music-Grinders:
      […] if you cannot make a speech,
      Because you are a flat,
      Go very quietly and drop
      A button in the hat!
    • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 14, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC ↗:
      "He fancies he can play at billiards," said he. "I won two hundred of him at the Cocoa-Tree. HE play, the young flat! […] "
  23. Short for flat ride (“spinning amusement ride”).
  24. (optics) A flat (i.e. plane) mirror
  25. (gambling, slang) A cheater's die with the edges shaved to make certain rolls more likely.
    • 2005, Fred Cicetti, Local Angles: The Big News in Small Towns, page 78:
      He would slip in his six-ace flats, shaved dice that were made to bring up sevens. He'd throw them just long enough to get well, and then replace them with legitimate cubes.
  26. (Canadian Prairies, British Columbia) A 24-case of beer.
Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • German: Breitpinsel
Translations Translations Translations Verb

flat (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.
  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.
    • 1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Stephen, the Two and Fortieth Monarch of the English-men: His Raigne, Acts, and Issue”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London: […] William Hall and John Beale, for John Sudbury and George Humble, […], →OCLC ↗, book IX ([Englands Monarchs] […]), paragraph 13, page 447 ↗, column 2:
      And thus thoſe Forts vvhich vvere erected to defend the Crovvne, firſt offended the King, ſome fevv vvhereof as he recouered, he flatted to the ground, and vviſhed the other no higher vvalls; ſtill ſvvearing by Gods Birth (his vſuall Oath) hee vvould not ſlightly bee vnſeated of his Crovvne, and vvondring vvhat ſhould mooue them, vvho had ſo readilie aduanced him, ſo ſpeedily to vnſtate him.
    • 1764, James Granger, The Sugar-Cane: a Poem. In Four Books. With Notes., M.D., Book 1, page 44, note to verse 605:
      The pods, which seldom contain less than thirty nuts of the size of a flatted olive, grow upon the stem and principal branches.
  6. (transitive, dated) To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress.
    • a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number). The Danger and Mischief of Delaying Repentance”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn] Valpy, […], published 1830–1831, →OCLC ↗:
      Passions are allayed, appetites are flatted.
Etymology 2

From 1795, alteration of Scots flet, from Middle English flet, from Old English flet, flett ("ground floor, dwelling"), from Proto-Germanic *flatją, from Proto-Germanic *flataz, from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-.

Noun

flat (plural flats)

  1. (chiefly, British, New England, South African, Australian, New Zealand, archaic elsewhere) An apartment, usually on one level and usually consisting of more than one room.
Synonyms Etymology 3

From Middle English flatten, from Old French flatir, from Frankish *flattjan, from Proto-Germanic *flatjaną.

Verb

flat (flats, present participle flatting; simple past and past participle flatted)

  1. (transitive, obsolete) To beat or strike; pound
  2. (transitive) To dash or throw
  3. (intransitive) To dash, rush


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