flat

Universal Words adjective, noun, adverb adjective (flatter, flattest) level 1 having a level surface, not curved or sloping: low buildings with flat roofs * People used to think the earth was flat. * Exercise is the only way to get a flat stomach after having a baby. * The sails hung limply in the flat calm (= conditions at sea when there is no wind and the water is completely level). 2 (of land) without any slopes or hills: The road stretched ahead across the flat landscape. * The desert was flat, mile after mile. * He reached a flatter section of land near the river. 3 (of surfaces) smooth and even; without lumps or holes: I need a flat surface to write on. * We found a large flat rock to sit on. not high 4 broad but not very high: Chapatis are a kind of flat Indian bread. * flat shoes (= with no heels or very low ones) dull 5 dull; lacking interest or enthusiasm: He felt very flat after his friends had gone home. * It was a curiously flat note on which to end the election campaign. voice 6 not showing much emotion; not changing much in tone: Her voice was flat and expressionless. * He spoke in a flat Midlands accent. colours / pictures 7 very smooth, with no contrast between light and dark, and giving no impression of depth: Acrylic paints can be used to create large, flat blocks of colour. business 8 not very successful because very little is being sold: The housing market has been flat for months. refusal / denial 9 [onlybeforenoun] not allowing discussion or argument; definite: Her request was met with a flat refusal. * He gave a flat 'No!' to one reporter's question. * These results are in flat contradiction to the theory of relativity. in music 10 used after the name of a note to mean a note a SEMITONE/HALF-TONE lower: That note should be B flat, not B. OPPSHARP compareNATURAL 11 below the correct PITCH (= how high or low a note sounds): The high notes were slightly flat. OPPSHARP drink 12 no longer having bubbles in it; not fresh: The soda was warm and had gone flat. battery 13 (BrE) unable to supply any more electricity tyre 14 not containing enough air, usually because of a hole feet 15 completely flat with no natural raised curves underneath seealsoFLAT-FOOTED IDIOMS and that's flat! (BrE, spoken) that is my final decision and I will not change my mind: You can't go and that's flat! as flat as a pancake completely flat: The country around here is as flat as a pancake. moreatBACKn., SPINn. noun rooms 1 [C] (BrE) a set of rooms for living in, including a kitchen, usually on one floor of a building: Do you live in a flat or a house? * They're renting a furnished flat on the third floor. * a ground-floor flat * a new block of flats * Many large old houses have been converted into flats. * Children from the flats (= the block of flats) across the street were playing outside. compareAPARTMENT level part 2 [sing.] the ~ of sth the flat level part of sth: He beat on the door with the flat of his hand. * the flat of a sword / blade land 3 [C,usually pl.] an area of low flat land, especially near water: salt flats seealsoMUDFLAT horse racing 4 (the flat, the Flat) [sing.] (BrE) the season for racing horses on flat ground with no jumps in music 5 [C] a note played a SEMITONE/HALFTONE lower than the note that is named. The written symbol is (flat): There are no sharps or flats in the key of C major. OPPSHARP compareNATURAL tyre 6 [C] (especially AmE) a tyre that has lost air usually because of a hole: We got a flat on the way home. * We had to stop to fix a flat. in theatre 7 [C] (technical) an upright section of scenery used on a theatre stage shoes 8 (flats) [pl.] = FLATTIES IDIOMS on the flat (BrE) on level ground, without hills or jumps (= for example in horse racing): Overtaking the next cyclist on an Alpine climb is a dozen times harder than on the flat. adverb (comparative flatter, no superlative) level 1 spread out in a level, straight position, especially against another surface: Lie flat and breath deeply. * They pressed themselves flat against the tunnel wall as the train approached. refusing / denying 2 (BrE) (AmE flat out) (informal) in a definite and direct way: She told me flat she would not speak to me again. * I made them a reasonable offer but they turned it down flat. in music 3 lower than the correct PITCH (= how high or low a note sounds): He sings flat all the time. OPPSHARP IDIOMS fall flat if a joke, a story, or an event falls flat, it completely fails to amuse people or to have the effect that was intended: Without Jem, the whole evening would have fallen flat. fall flat on your face 1 to fall so that you are lying on your front 2 to fail completely, usually causing embarrassment: His next television venture fell flat on its face. flat broke (BrE also stony broke) (informal) completely broke flat out (informal) 1 as fast or as hard as possible: Workers are working flat out to meet the rise in demand for new cars. 2 (especially AmE) in a definite and direct way; completely: I told him flat out 'No'. * It's a 30-year mortgage we just flat out can't handle. in...flat (informal) used with an expression of time to say that sth happened or was done very quickly, in no more than the time stated: They changed the wheel in three minutes flat (= in exactly three minutes).