flat

English

/flæt/

adj
Definitions
  • Having no variations in height.
  • (music) Without variations in pitch.
  • (slang) Having small or invisible breasts and/or buttocks.
  • (music) Lowered by one semitone.
  • (music) Of a note or voice, lower in pitch than it should be.
  • (of a tire or other inflated object) Deflated, especially because of a puncture.
  • Uninteresting.
  • (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.
  • (wine) Lacking acidity without being sweet.
  • (of a battery) Unable to emit power; dead.
  • (juggling) Without spin; spinless.
  • (figurative) Lacking liveliness or action; depressed; dull and boring.
  • Absolute; downright; peremptory.
  • (phonetics) 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".
  • (golf) Having a head at a very obtuse angle to the shaft.
  • (horticulture) Flattening at the ends.
  • (authorship) Lacking in depth, substance, or believability; underdeveloped; one-dimensional.
  • (commerce) Fixed; unvarying.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English flat derived from Old Norse flatr (flat) derived from Proto-Germanic *flataz (flat) derived from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (flat, broad), *pleth₂- (flat, broad).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*pleth₂-

Gloss

flat, broad

Concept
Semantic Field

Spatial relations

Ontological Category

Property

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms