adjective flatter, flattest 1. horizontal; level: flat ground, a flat roof
2. even or smooth, without projections or depressions: a flat surface
3. lying stretched out at full length; prostrate: he lay flat on the ground
4. having little depth or thickness; shallow: a flat dish
5. (postpositive) often foll by against. having a surface or side in complete contact with another surface: flat against the wall
6. spread out, unrolled, or levelled
7. (of a tyre) deflated, either partially or completely
8. (of shoes) having an unraised or only slightly raised heel
9. (
mainly Brit)
- (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
10. without qualification; total: a flat denial
11. without possibility of change; fixed: a flat rate
12. (prenominal or immediately postpositive) neither more nor less; exact: he did the journey in thirty minutes flat, a flat thirty minutes
13. unexciting or lacking point or interest: a flat joke
14. without variation or resonance; monotonous: a flat voice
15. (of food) stale or tasteless
16. (of beer, sparkling wines, etc) having lost effervescence, as by exposure to air
17. (of trade, business, a market, etc) commercially inactive; sluggish
18. (of a battery) fully discharged; dead
19. (of a print, photograph, or painting) lacking contrast or shading between tones
20. (of paint) without gloss or lustre; matt
21. (of a painting) lacking perspective
22. (of lighting) diffuse
23. (
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)
24. (
phonetics)
another word for lenis 25. (phonetics) flat a, the vowel sound of a as in the usual US or S Brit pronunciation of hand, cat, usually represented by the symbol (æ)
adverb 26. in or into a prostrate, level, or flat state or position: he held his hand out flat
27. completely or utterly; absolutely: he went flat against the rules
28. exactly; precisely: in three minutes flat
29. (
music)
- lower than a standard pitch
- too low in pitch: she sings flat Compare sharp (sense 18)
30. fall flat, to fail to achieve a desired effect, etc
31. (
informal)
flat out - with the maximum speed or effort
- totally exhausted
noun 32. a flat object, surface, or part
33. (often pl) a low-lying tract of land, esp a marsh or swamp
34. (often pl) a mud bank exposed at low tide
35. (
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)
36. (theatre) a rectangular wooden frame covered with painted canvas, etc, used to form part of a stage setting
38. (
mainly Brit) (
(often cap.))
the flat - flat racing, esp as opposed to steeplechasing and hurdling
- the season of flat racing
39. (nautical) a flatboat or lighter
40. (US & Canadian) a shallow box or container, used for holding plants, growing seedlings, etc