flat

flat¹ W2S2 [flæt] adj comparative flatter superlative flattest

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1¦(surface)¦

2¦(money)¦

3¦(tyre/ball)¦

4¦(not deep)¦

5¦(drink)¦

6¦(not interesting)¦

7¦(battery)¦

8¦(business/trade)¦

9 E flat/B flat/A flat etc

10¦(musical sound)¦

11¦(voice)¦

12 a flat refusal/denial etc

13 be flat on your back

14¦(shoes)¦

15¦(light)¦

16 and that's flat!

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old Norse; Origin: flatr]

1.) ¦(SURFACE)¦

smooth and level, without raised or hollow areas, and not sloping or curving

▪ houses with flat roofs

▪ a perfectly flat sandy beach

▪ The countryside near there is flat as a pancake (=very flat) .

▪ Work on a clean, flat surface.

2.) ¦(MONEY)¦

a flat rate, amount of money etc is fixed and does not change or have anything added to it

▪ Clients are charged a flat rate of £250 annually.

▪ We charge a flat fee for car hire.

3.) ¦(TYRE/BALL)¦

a flat tyre or ball has no air or not enough air in it

4.) ¦(NOT DEEP)¦

not very deep, thick, or high, especially in comparison to its width or length

▪ The cake came out of the oven flat, not fluffy.

5.) ¦(DRINK)¦

a drink that is flat does not taste fresh because it has no more bubbles of gas in it

≠ ↑fizzy

6.) ¦(NOT INTERESTING)¦ [not before noun]

a performance, book etc that is flat lacks interest, excitement, or energy

▪ Arsenal looked flat for large parts of the game.

7.) ¦(BATTERY)¦

BrE a flat ↑battery has lost its electrical power

American Equivalent: dead

▪ Have you checked that the batteries haven't gone flat (=become flat) ?

8.) ¦(BUSINESS/TRADE)¦

if prices, economic conditions, trade etc are flat, they have not increased or improved over a period of time

▪ Analysts are expecting flat sales in the coming months.

9.) E flat/B flat/A flat etc

a musical note that is one ↑semitone lower than the note E, B, A etc

→↑sharp, natural ↑natural

10.)¦(MUSICAL SOUND)¦

if a musical note is flat, it is played or sung slightly lower than it should be

≠ ↑sharp

11.) ¦(VOICE)¦

not showing much emotion, or not changing much in sound as you speak

▪ 'He's dead,' she said in a flat voice.

12.) a flat refusal/denial etc

a refusal etc that is definite and which someone will not change

▪ Our requests were met with a flat refusal.

13.) be flat on your back

a) to be lying down so that all of your back is touching the floor

b) to be very ill so that you have to stay in bed for a period of time

▪ I've been flat on my back with the flu all week.

14.) ¦(SHOES)¦

flat shoes have very low heels

15.) ¦(LIGHT)¦

having little variety of light and dark

▪ Flat lighting is typical of Avedon's portraits.

16.) and that's flat!

BrE spoken old-fashioned used to say that you will definitely not change what you have just said

= ↑and that's that

▪ I won't go, and that's flat!

>flatness n [U]

→in/into a flat spin at ↑spin² (6), ↑flat feet

flat ²

flat² W3S2 n

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1¦(place to live)¦

2¦(tyre)¦

3¦(music)¦

4¦(land)¦

5¦(shoes)¦

6 the flat of somebody's hand/a knife/a sword etc

7 on the flat

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[Sense: 1; Date: 1800-1900; : Scottish English; Origin: flet 'inside of a house' (14-19 centuries) (influenced by FLAT¹)]

[Sense: 2-7; Date: 1200-1300; Origin: FLAT¹]

1.) ¦(PLACE TO LIVE)¦

especially BrE a place for people to live that consists of a set of rooms that are part of a larger building

= ↑apartment

▪ They have a flat in Crouch End.

▪ a two-bedroom flat

▪ The building was knocked down to make way for a block of flats (=a large building with many flats in it) .

→↑granny flat

2.) ¦(TYRE)¦

especially AmE a tyre that does not have enough air inside

= ↑flat tyre

▪ Damn, the car has a flat .

▪ He stopped to change a flat .

3.) ¦(MUSIC)¦

a) a musical note that is one ↑semitone lower than a particular note

b) the sign in written music that shows that a note is one ↑semitone lower than a particular note

→↑sharp, natural ↑natural

4.) ¦(LAND)¦

flats [plural]

an area of land that is at a low level, especially near water

▪ mud flats

5.) ¦(SHOES)¦

flats [plural] AmE

a pair of women's shoes with very low heels

6.) the flat of sb's hand/a knife/a sword etc

the flat part or flat side of something

7.) on the flat

BrE on ground that is level and does not slope

flat ³

flat³ adv

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1¦(flat position)¦

2 three minutes/10 seconds etc flat

3 fall flat

4¦(music)¦

5 fall flat on your face

6 flat out

7 tell somebody flat

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1.) ¦(FLAT POSITION)¦

in a position in which the surface of something is against another surface without curving or sloping

▪ The bed can be folded flat for storage.

▪ He lay flat on the floor.

▪ That night I lay flat on my back and stared up at the ceiling.

2.) three minutes/10 seconds etc flat informal

in exactly three minutes, ten seconds etc - used to emphasize that something happens or is done very quickly

▪ I was dressed in five minutes flat.

3.) fall flat informal

if a joke, story etc falls flat, it does not achieve the effect that is intended

▪ Unfortunately, what could have been a powerful drama fell flat.

4.) ¦(MUSIC)¦

if you sing or play music flat, you sing or play slightly lower than the correct note so that the sound is unpleasant

≠ ↑sharp

5.) fall flat on your face

a) to fall so that you are lying on your chest on the ground

▪ Babe slipped and fell flat on her face.

b) informal to not have the result you want or expect, especially when this is embarrassing

▪ The theory falls flat on its face when put into practice.

6.) flat out informal

a) as fast as possible

▪ Everyone's working flat out to finish on time.

b) AmE in a direct and complete way

= ↑straight out

ask/tell sb flat out

▪ She asked him flat out if he was seeing another woman.

7.) tell sb flat

BrE spoken to tell someone something directly and definitely

= ↑straight out

▪ I told him flat that I didn't want to see him again.

→flat broke at ↑broke² (1)