flat.
Having no variations in height.
Meaning & usage
Having no variations in height.
The land around here is flat.
Having no variations in height. In a horizontal line or plane; not sloping.
a flat roof
Having no variations in height. 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.
Having no variations in height. Having small or invisible breasts and/or buttocks.
That girl is completely flat on both sides.
Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc.
The exchange rate has been flat for several weeks.
Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc. At a consistently depressed level; consistently lacklustre.
Sales have been flat all year, and we've barely broken even.
Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc. Of fees, fares etc., fixed; unvarying.
a flat fee
flat rates
Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc. Without variations in pitch.
He delivered the speech in a flat tone.
Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc. Not diphthongal; without variation in height or backness.
Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc. Without variation in tone or hue (uniform), and dull (not glossy).
The walls were painted a flat gray.
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.
Lacking liveliness or action; depressed; uninteresting; dull and boring. Lacking in depth, substance, or believability; underdeveloped; one-dimensional.
The author added a chapter to flesh out the book's flatter characters.
Lowered by one semitone.
Of a note or voice, lower in pitch than it should be.
Your A string is flat.
Absolute; downright; peremptory.
His claim was in flat contradiction to experimental results.
I'm not going to the party and that's flat.
Deflated, especially because of a puncture.
With all or most of its carbon dioxide having come out of solution so that the drink no longer fizzes or contains any bubbles.
Lacking acidity without being sweet.
Unable to emit power; dead.
Without spin; spinless.
Sonant; vocal, as distinguished from a sharp (non-sonant) consonant.
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.
Having a head at a very obtuse angle to the shaft.
Flattening at the ends.
Exact.
He finished the race in a flat four minutes.
Such that the tensor product preserves exact sequences. See Flat module on Wikipedia.Wikipedia.
Such that its target, regarded as a module over its source, is flat (as above).
Such that the induced map on every stalk is flat (as a map of rings).
Having little froth and little milk.
Foolish; simple-minded.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *flataz Old Norse flatrbor. Middle English flat English flat 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- (“flat”); akin to Saterland Frisian flot (“smooth”), German Flöz (“a geological layer”), Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús), Latvian plats, Sanskrit प्रथस् (prathas, “extension”). Doublet of plat and pleyt. The noun is from Middle English flat (“level piece of ground, flat edge of a weapon”), from the adjective. The algebraic sense was coined by Serre in a 1956 paper, originally as French plat.
So as to be flat.
Spread the tablecloth flat over the table.
Completely, firmly, or unequivocally.
I asked him if he wanted to marry me and he turned me down flat.
Exactly; precisely.
In the mile race, Smith's time was 3:58.56, and Brown's was four minutes flat.
Used to emphasize the smallness of the measurement.
He can run a mile in four minutes flat.
Without parole.
Completely.
I am flat broke this month.
Directly; flatly.
Without allowance for accrued interest.
The bonds are trading flat.
Flat out (at top speed).
In the dry, the racing cars can take the corner flat.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *flataz Old Norse flatrbor. Middle English flat English flat 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- (“flat”); akin to Saterland Frisian flot (“smooth”), German Flöz (“a geological layer”), Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús), Latvian plats, Sanskrit प्रथस् (prathas, “extension”). Doublet of plat and pleyt. The noun is from Middle English flat (“level piece of ground, flat edge of a weapon”), from the adjective. The algebraic sense was coined by Serre in a 1956 paper, originally as French plat.
An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water).
The hovercraft skimmed across the open flats.
An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water). Level ground in general.
An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water). Level horse-racing ground, as contrasted with courses incorporating jumps, or the racing done on such ground.
An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water). the area in the centre of a racecourse.
An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water). The areas behind the line of scrimmage to either side of an offensive football formation.
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.
A flat tyre/flat tire.
A type of ladies' shoe with a very low heel.
She liked to walk in her flats more than in her high heels.
A type of flat-soled running shoe without spikes.
A thin, broad brush used in oil and watercolour painting.
The most prominent flat part of something.
The most prominent flat part of something. The flat side of a blade, as opposed to the sharp edge.
The most prominent flat part of something. The palm of the hand, with the adjacent part of the fingers.
A wide, shallow container or pallet.
a flat of strawberries
Ellipsis of flat water (“nonfizzy drinking water”).
Waiter: Would you like sparkling or flat? Guest: Flat, thank you.
A large mail piece measuring at least 8 1/2 by 11 inches, such as catalogs, magazines, and unfolded paper enclosed in large envelopes.
A railroad car without a roof, and whose body is a platform without sides; a platform car or flatcar.
A flat spot on the wheel of a rail vehicle.
A flat-bottomed boat, without keel, and of small draught.
A subset of n-dimensional space that is congruent to a Euclidean space of lower dimension.
A straw hat, broad-brimmed and low-crowned.
A flat sheet for use on a bed.
A flat, glossy children's book with few pages.
A platform on a wheel, upon which emblematic designs etc. are carried in processions.
A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.
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.
Any of various hesperiid butterflies that spread their wings open when they land.
An early kind of toy soldier having a flat design.
A dull fellow; a simpleton.
Ellipsis of flat ride (“spinning amusement ride”).
A flat (i.e. plane) mirror
A cheater's die with the edges shaved to make certain rolls more likely.
A 24-case of beer.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *flataz Old Norse flatrbor. Middle English flat English flat 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- (“flat”); akin to Saterland Frisian flot (“smooth”), German Flöz (“a geological layer”), Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús), Latvian plats, Sanskrit प्रथस् (prathas, “extension”). Doublet of plat and pleyt. The noun is from Middle English flat (“level piece of ground, flat edge of a weapon”), from the adjective. The algebraic sense was coined by Serre in a 1956 paper, originally as French plat.
To make a flat call; to call without raising.
To become flat or flattened; to sink or fall to an even surface.
To fall from the pitch.
To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone.
To make flat; to flatten; to level.
To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *flataz Old Norse flatrbor. Middle English flat English flat 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- (“flat”); akin to Saterland Frisian flot (“smooth”), German Flöz (“a geological layer”), Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús), Latvian plats, Sanskrit प्रथस् (prathas, “extension”). Doublet of plat and pleyt. The noun is from Middle English flat (“level piece of ground, flat edge of a weapon”), from the adjective. The algebraic sense was coined by Serre in a 1956 paper, originally as French plat.
A complete domicile occupying only part of a building, especially one for rent
Where this word comes from
From an alteration (due to Scots flatt (“a level part of a structure”)) of Scots flet, flett (“inner part of a house”), from Middle English flet (“dwelling”), from Old English flet, flett (“ground floor, dwelling”), from Proto-West Germanic *flati, from Proto-Germanic *flatją (“floor”), from Proto-Germanic *flataz (“flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“flat”). Akin to Old Frisian flet, flette (“dwelling, house”). More at flet, flat₁.
To beat or strike; pound
To dash or throw
To dash, rush
Where this word comes from
From Middle English flatten, from Old French flatir (“to knock or strike down, dash”), from Frankish *flattjan (“to move the palm of the hand”), from Proto-Germanic *flatjaną (“to make flat, flatten”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.