What does "flat" mean?
An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water).
Flat
/flæt/ adj, adv, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water).
- Grammar: flat is listed as adj, adv, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: apartment, flat tire, boring, 2-dimensional.
- Useful contrasts: bumpy, carbonated, cratered.
- Usage evidence: It was very hard for me to find your flat.
How to use "flat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "flat" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "flat" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "flat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "flat" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "flat" is acting as adj, adv, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "apartment" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "flat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water).
"The hovercraft skimmed across the open flats."
- 2 A complete domicile occupying only part of a building, especially one for rent Australia, British, India, New-England, New-Zealand, Singapore, South-Africa, dialectal
"The excellence of French flats is so well known in America, that the owner will often refer to his property as "first class French flats.""
- 3 a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house wordnet
- 4 An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water).; Level ground in general.
"I can run on the flat but not up hills."
- 5 scenery consisting of a wooden frame covered with painted canvas; part of a stage setting wordnet
Show 36 more definitions
- 6 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. sometimes
"This horse will do better over the flat."
- 7 a deflated pneumatic tire wordnet
- 8 An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water).; the area in the centre of a racecourse. Australia, sometimes
"As forecast, Joe suspected nothing as he pottered round the flat in the sunshine, absorbed in the task of picking winners."
- 9 a shallow box in which seedlings are started wordnet
- 10 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.
- 11 freight car without permanent sides or roof wordnet
- 12 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."
- 13 a musical notation indicating one half step lower than the note named wordnet
- 14 A flat tyre/flat tire. informal
"The next one surrendered his bike, only for that, too, to give him a second flat as he started the descent."
- 15 a level tract of land wordnet
- 16 A type of ladies' shoe with a very low heel. in-plural
"She liked to walk in her flats more than in her high heels."
- 17 A type of flat-soled running shoe without spikes. in-plural
- 18 A thin, broad brush used in oil and watercolour painting.
- 19 The most prominent flat part of something.
"The outboard bales in each tier should be placed on their edges so that their flats will be presented to the sweat battens. This precaution is necessary to lessen the damage in case of chafage. If the bales chafe or become wet on their flats, only one or two layers will be damaged."
- 20 The most prominent flat part of something.; The flat side of a blade, as opposed to the sharp edge.
- 21 The most prominent flat part of something.; The palm of the hand, with the adjacent part of the fingers.
- 22 A wide, shallow container or pallet.
"a flat of strawberries"
- 23 Ellipsis of flat water (“nonfizzy drinking water”). US, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"Waiter: Would you like sparkling or flat? Guest: Flat, thank you."
- 24 A large mail piece measuring at least 8 1/2 by 11 inches, such as catalogs, magazines, and unfolded paper enclosed in large envelopes.
- 25 A railroad car without a roof, and whose body is a platform without sides; a platform car or flatcar. US
"For example, when trailers containing new automobiles were first piggybacked two areas of potential damage became evident: (1) diesel locomotive exhaust left a film of oil on the new autos; and (2) auto windshields could be scarred or cracked by the metal-tipped "tell-tales" which warn men atop trains of oncoming bridges or tunnels. Accordingly, automobiles aboard piggyback flats are usually coupled into the train 15 or more cars behind the locomotive; and telltales have been raised."
- 26 A flat spot on the wheel of a rail vehicle.
"The tender roared along vibrating vigorously; braking had resulted in "flats" on most of its tyres."
- 27 A flat-bottomed boat, without keel, and of small draught.
- 28 A subset of n-dimensional space that is congruent to a Euclidean space of lower dimension.
- 29 A straw hat, broad-brimmed and low-crowned.
- 30 A flat sheet for use on a bed.
"You might think that Americans buy roughly the same number of fitted sheets as flats. Or, considering the market for electric blankets, duvets, and other covers, that consumers buy even more bottom sheets, simply forgoing the tops."
- 31 A flat, glossy children's book with few pages.
"This same publisher notes pricing is a crucial factor in the mass market field of $1, $1.95 and $2.95 "flats.""
- 32 A platform on a wheel, upon which emblematic designs etc. are carried in processions.
- 33 A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.
- 34 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.
- 35 Any of various hesperiid butterflies that spread their wings open when they land.
- 36 An early kind of toy soldier having a flat design. historical
"Among the many US museums hosting flats, we may mention the Toy Soldier Museum in the Pocono Mountains, supervised by the historian, collector and dealer J. Hillestad."
- 37 A dull fellow; a simpleton. obsolete
"[…] if you cannot make a speech, Because you are a flat, Go very quietly and drop A button in the hat!"
- 38 Ellipsis of flat ride (“spinning amusement ride”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 39 A flat (i.e. plane) mirror
""When sampling the aperture of a telescope, using auto-collimating flats (ACFs) is more economical""
- 40 A cheater's die with the edges shaved to make certain rolls more likely. slang
"He would slip in his six-ace flats, shaved dice that were made to bring up sevens. He'd throw them just long enough to get well, and then replace them with legitimate cubes."
- 41 A 24-case of beer. British-Columbia, Canadian-Prairies
Verb
- 1 To make a flat call; to call without raising. slang
- 2 To beat or strike; pound obsolete, transitive
- 3 To become flat or flattened; to sink or fall to an even surface. intransitive
- 4 To dash or throw transitive
- 5 To fall from the pitch. colloquial, intransitive
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 To dash, rush intransitive
- 7 To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone. transitive
- 8 To make flat; to flatten; to level. dated, transitive
"And thus thoſe Forts vvhich vvere erected to defend the Crovvne, firſt offended the King, ſome fevv vvhereof as he recouered, he flatted to the ground, and vviſhed the other no higher vvalls; ſtill ſvvearing by Gods Birth (his vſuall Oath) hee vvould not ſlightly bee vnſeated of his Crovvne, and vvondring vvhat ſhould mooue them, vvho had ſo readilie aduanced him, ſo ſpeedily to vnſtate him."
- 9 To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress. dated, transitive
"Passions are allayed, appetites are flatted."
Adjective
- 1 Having no variations in height.
"The land around here is flat."
- 2 Having no variations in height.; In a horizontal line or plane; not sloping.
"a flat roof"
- 3 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."
- 4 Having no variations in height.; Having small or invisible breasts and/or buttocks. slang
"Near-synonym: flat-chested"
- 5 Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc.
"The exchange rate has been flat for several weeks."
Show 25 more definitions
- 6 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."
- 7 Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc.; Of fees, fares etc., fixed; unvarying. not-comparable
"a flat fee"
- 8 Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc.; Without variations in pitch.
"He delivered the speech in a flat tone."
- 9 Without variation in level, quantity, value, tone etc.; Not diphthongal; without variation in height or backness.
- 10 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."
- 11 Lacking liveliness or action; depressed; uninteresting; dull and boring. figuratively
"The party was a bit flat."
- 12 Lacking liveliness or action; depressed; uninteresting; dull and boring.; Lacking in depth, substance, or believability; underdeveloped; one-dimensional. especially, figuratively
"The author added a chapter to flesh out the book's flatter characters."
- 13 Lowered by one semitone.
- 14 Of a note or voice, lower in pitch than it should be.
"Your A string is flat."
- 15 Absolute; downright; peremptory.
"His claim was in flat contradiction to experimental results."
- 16 Deflated, especially because of a puncture.
- 17 With all or most of its carbon dioxide having come out of solution so that the drink no longer fizzes or contains any bubbles.
- 18 Lacking acidity without being sweet.
- 19 Unable to emit power; dead.
- 20 Without spin; spinless.
- 21 Sonant; vocal, as distinguished from a sharp (non-sonant) consonant. dated
- 22 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."
- 23 Having a head at a very obtuse angle to the shaft.
- 24 Flattening at the ends.
- 25 Exact.
"He finished the race in a flat four minutes."
- 26 Such that the tensor product preserves exact sequences. See Flat module on Wikipedia.Wikipedia.
- 27 Such that its target, regarded as a module over its source, is flat (as above).
- 28 Such that the induced map on every stalk is flat (as a map of rings).
- 29 Having little froth and little milk.
- 30 Foolish; simple-minded. UK, obsolete, slang
"We either burns the old brooms, or, if we can, we sells ’em for a ha’penny to some other boy, if he’s flat enough to buy ’em."
Adjective
- 1 commercially inactive wordnet
- 2 not reflecting light; not glossy wordnet
- 3 having a relatively broad surface in relation to depth or thickness wordnet
- 4 lacking the expected range or depth; not designed to give an illusion or depth wordnet
- 5 having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another wordnet
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 lacking contrast or shading between tones wordnet
- 7 horizontally level wordnet
- 8 stretched out and lying at full length along the ground wordnet
- 9 sounded or spoken in a tone unvarying in pitch wordnet
- 10 (of a musical note) lowered in pitch by one chromatic semitone wordnet
- 11 not modified or restricted by reservations wordnet
- 12 having lost effervescence wordnet
- 13 lacking stimulating characteristics; uninteresting wordnet
- 14 lacking taste or flavor or tang wordnet
- 15 flattened laterally along the whole length (e.g., certain leafstalks or flatfishes) wordnet
Adverb
- 1 So as to be flat.
"Spread the tablecloth flat over the table."
- 2 Completely, firmly, or unequivocally.
"I asked him if he wanted to marry me and he turned me down flat."
- 3 Exactly, precisely.
"In the mile race, Smith's time was 3:58.56, and Brown's was four minutes flat."
- 4 Used to emphasize the smallness of the measurement.
"He can run a mile in four minutes flat."
- 5 Without parole.
"The recent case in Dallas where two gay males were killed by an 18 yr old straight kid is a perfect example of what gays in this state face. The kid got 30 yrs (he'll do 3 or 4 yrs and be paroled) yet I must do 12 years flat for a robbery in which no one was hurt."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Completely.
"I am flat broke this month."
- 7 Directly; flatly.
"Sin is flat opposite to the Almighty."
- 8 Without allowance for accrued interest. slang
"The bonds are trading flat."
Adverb
- 1 in a forthright manner; candidly or frankly wordnet
- 2 with flat sails wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"It was very hard for me to find your flat."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "flat"?
Common synonyms include: apartment, flat tire, boring, 2-dimensional, 3-d, abeyant.
How do you use "flat" in a sentence?
It was very hard for me to find your flat.
How do you pronounce "flat"?
Pronounced /flæt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
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.
Etymology 3
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”).