Flat adj. (compar. flatter; superl. flattest) 1.Having an even and horizontal surface, or nearly so, without prominences or depressions; level without inclination; plane. "Though sun and moon Were in the flat sea sunk."
2.Lying at full length, or spread out, upon the ground; level with the ground or earth; prostrate; as, to lie flat on the ground; hence, fallen; laid low; ruined; destroyed. "What ruins kingdoms, and lays cities flat!" "I feel... my hopes all flat."
3.(Fine Arts) Wanting relief; destitute of variety; without points of prominence and striking interest. "A large part of the work is, to me, very flat."
4.Tasteless; stale; vapid; insipid; dead; as, fruit or drink flat to the taste.
5.Unanimated; dull; uninteresting; without point or spirit; monotonous; as, a flat speech or composition. "How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world."
6.Lacking liveliness of commercial exchange and dealings; depressed; dull; as, the market is flat.
7.Clear; unmistakable; peremptory; absolute; positive; downright.
Synonyms: flat-out. "Flat burglary as ever was committed." "A great tobacco taker too, that's flat."
8.(Mus.) (a)Below the true pitch; hence, as applied to intervals, minor, or lower by a half step; as, a flat seventh; A flat.
(b)Not sharp or shrill; not acute; as, a flat sound.
9.(Phonetics) Sonant; vocal; applied to any one of the sonant or vocal consonants, as distinguished from a nonsonant (or sharp) consonant.
10.(Golf) Having a head at a very obtuse angle to the shaft; said of a club.
11.(Gram.) Not having an inflectional ending or sign, 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, are from AS. adverbs in -e, the loss of this ending having made them like the adjectives. Some having forms in ly, such as exceeding, wonderful, true, are now archaic.
12.(Hort.) Flattening at the ends; said of certain fruits.
Flat arch. (Arch.) See under Arch, n., 2. (b). Flat cap, cap paper, not folded. See under Paper. Flat chasing, in fine art metal working, a mode of ornamenting silverware, etc., producing figures by dots and lines made with a punching tool.
Flat chisel, a sculptor's chisel for smoothing.
Flat file, a file wider than its thickness, and of rectangular section. See File. Flat nail, a small, sharp-pointed, wrought nail, with a flat, thin head, larger than a tack.
Flat paper, paper which has not been folded.
Flat rail, a railroad rail consisting of a simple flat bar spiked to a longitudinal sleeper.
Flat rods (Mining), horizontal or inclined connecting rods, for transmitting motion to pump rods at a distance.
Flat rope, a rope made by plaiting instead of twisting; gasket; sennit. Note: Some flat hoisting ropes, as for mining shafts, are made by sewing together a number of ropes, making a wide, flat band.
Flat space. (Geom.) See Euclidian space.
Flat stitch, the process of wood engraving. (Obs.) Flat tint (Painting), a coat of water color of one uniform shade.
To fall flat (Fig.), to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect; as, his speech fell flat. "Of all who fell by saber or by shot, Not one fell half so flat as Walter Scott."
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