flat
noun
- An area of level ground.
- A note played a 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. ♭♪).
- A flat tyre/tire.
- (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."
- (in the plural) A type of flat-soled running shoe without spikes.
- A thin, broad brush used in oil and watercolor/watercolour painting.
- The flat part of something:
- A wide, shallow container or pallet.
"a flat of strawberries"
- (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.
- A railroad car without a roof, and whose body is a platform without sides; a platform car or flatcar.
- 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 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 dull fellow; a simpleton.
- (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.
- Any of various hesperiid butterflies that spread their wings open when they land.
- An early kind of toy soldier having a flat design.
verb
- 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.
adjective
- Having no variations in height.
"The land around here is flat."
- (voice) Without variations in pitch.
- Having small or invisible breasts and/or buttocks.
"That girl is completely flat on both sides."
- (note) Lowered by one semitone.
- Of a note or voice, lower in pitch than it should be.
"Your A string is too flat."
- (of a tire or other inflated object) Deflated, especially because of a puncture.
- Uninteresting.
"The party was a bit flat."
- (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.
- Lacking acidity without being sweet.
- (of a battery) Unable to emit power; dead.
- (of a throw) Without spin; spinless.
- Lacking liveliness or action; depressed; dull and boring.
"The dialogue in your screenplay is flat -- you need to make it more exciting."
- Absolute; downright; peremptory.
"His claim was in flat contradiction to experimental results."
- (of a consonant) sonant; vocal, as distinguished from a sharp (non-sonant) consonant
- (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."
- (of a golf club) Having a head at a very obtuse angle to the shaft.
- (of certain fruits) Flattening at the ends.
- (authorship, especially of a character) Lacking in depth, substance, or believability; underdeveloped; one-dimensional.
"The author added a chapter to flesh out the books' flatter characters."
- Fixed; unvarying.
"a flat fare on public transport"
adverb
- So as to be flat.
"Spread the tablecloth flat over the table."
- Bluntly.
"I asked him if he wanted to marry me and he turned me down flat."
- (with units of time, distance, etc) Not exceeding.
"He can run a mile in four minutes flat."
- Completely.
"I am flat broke this month."
- Directly; flatly.
- Without allowance for accrued interest.
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