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4 dictionary results for: fall flat

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

flat1

[flat] Pronunciation Key adjective, flat·ter, flat·test, noun, verb, flat·ted, flat·ting, adverb

–adjective

1.	horizontally level: a flat roof.

2.	level, even, or without unevenness of surface, as land or tabletops.

3.	having a surface that is without marked projections or depressions: a broad, flat face.

4.	lying horizontally and at full length, as a person; prostrate: He was flat on the canvas after the knockdown.

5.	lying wholly on or against something: The banner was flat against the wall.

6.	thrown down, laid low, or level with the ground, as fallen trees or buildings.

7.	having a generally level shape or appearance; not deep or thick: a flat plate.

8.	(of the heel of a shoe) low and broad.

9.	spread out, as an unrolled map or the open hand.

10.	deflated; collapsed: a flat tire.

11.	absolute, downright, or positive; without qualification: a flat denial.

12.	without modification or variation: a flat rate.

13.	Informal. lacking money; broke.

14.	without vitality or animation; lifeless; dull: flat writing.

15.	having lost its flavor, sharpness, or life, as wine or food; stale.

16.	(of a beverage) having lost its effervescence.

17.	without flavor; not spiced: flat cooking.

18.	prosaic, banal, or insipid: a flat style.

19.	pointless, as a remark or joke.

20.	commercially inactive: a flat day in the stock market.

21.	(of a painting) not having the illusion of volume or depth.

22.	(of a photograph or painting) lacking contrast or gradations of tone or color.

23.	(of paint) without gloss; not shiny; mat.

24.	not clear, sharp, or ringing, as sound or a voice.

25.	lacking resonance and variation in pitch; monotonous: a flat delivery of the speech.

26.

Music.

a.	(of a tone) lowered a half step in pitch: B flat.

b.	below an intended pitch, as a note; too low (opposed to sharp).

27.	Grammar. derived without change in form, as English to brush from the noun brush and adverbs that do not add -ly to the adjective form as fast, cheap, and slow.

28.	Phonetics. lenis; voiced.

29.

Nautical. (of a sail)

a.	cut with little or no fullness.

b.	trimmed as nearly fore-and-aft as possible, for sailing to windward.

30.	flat a, the a-sound (a) of glad, bat, or act.

–noun

31.	something flat.

32.	a shoe, esp. a woman's shoe, with a flat heel or no heel.

33.	a flat surface, side, or part of anything: He struck me with the flat of his hand.

34.	flat or level ground; a flat area: salt flats.

35.	a marsh, shoal, or shallow.

36.

Music.

a.	(in musical notation) the character ♭, which when attached to a note or to a staff degree lowers its significance one chromatic half step.

b.	a tone one chromatic half step below another: The flat of B is B flat.

c.	(on keyboard instruments, with reference to any given note) the key next below or to the left.

37.	Theater. a piece of scenery consisting of a wooden frame, usually rectangular, covered with lightweight board or fabric.

38.	a broad, thin book, chiefly for children: a juvenile flat.

39.	Informal. a deflated automobile tire.

40.	(in postal use) a large flat package, as in a manila envelope, for mailing.

41.	Architecture. a flat roof or deck.

42.

Nautical.

a.	Also called platform. a partial deck between two full decks.

b.	a low, flat barge or lighter.

43.

Shipbuilding.

a.	a broad, flat piece of iron or steel for overlapping and joining two plates at their edges.

b.	a straight timber in a frame or other assembly of generally curved timbers.

44.	an iron or steel bar of rectangular cross section.

45.	Textiles. one of a series of laths covered with card clothing, used in conjunction with the cylinder in carding.

46.	Photography. one or more negatives or positives in position to be reproduced.

47.	Printing. a device for holding a negative or positive flat for reproduction by photoengraving.

48.	Horticulture. a shallow, lidless box or tray used for rooting seeds and cuttings and for growing young plants.

49.	a similar box used for shipping and selling fruits and vegetables.

50.	Football. the area of the field immediately inside of or outside of an offensive end, close behind or at the line of scrimmage.

51.	flats, Informal. flat races between horses. Compare flat race.

–verb (used with object)

52.	to make flat.

53.	Music. to lower (a pitch), esp. one half step.

–verb (used without object)

54.	to become flat.

–adverb

55.	in a flat position; horizontally; levelly.

56.	in a flat manner; positively; absolutely.

57.	completely; utterly: flat broke.

58.	exactly; precisely: She ran around the track in two minutes flat.

59.	Music. below the true pitch: to sing flat.

60.	Finance. without interest.

—Verb phrase

61.	flat in, Nautical. to pull the clew of (a fore-and-aft sail) as nearly amidships as possible. Also, flatten in.

—Idioms

62.	fall flat, to fail to produce the desired effect; fail completely: His attempts at humor fell flat.

63.	flat aft, Nautical. trimmed so that fore-and-aft sails present as flat a surface as possible, as in sailing close to the wind.

64.	flat on one's back. back (def. 19).

65.

flat out, Informal.

a.	without hesitation; directly or openly: He told us flat out he'd been a double agent.

b.	at full speed or with maximum effort.

[Origin: 1275–1325; ME < ON flatr, akin to OE flet (see flat²), Gk platýs (see platy-, plate¹

]

—Related forms

flatly, adverb

flatness, noun

—Synonyms 1. plane. See level. 4. low, prone. 11. outright, peremptory, categorical. 14. boring, spiritless, prosaic. 17. vapid, unsavory.

—Antonyms 1, 4. upright, vertical. 14. spirited. 17. savory.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fall   (fôl) Pronunciation Key
v.   fell (fěl), fall·en (fô'lən), fall·ing, falls

v.   intr.

To drop or come down freely under the influence of gravity.
To drop oneself to a lower or less erect position: I fell back in my chair. The pilgrims fell to their knees.
1. To lose an upright or erect position suddenly.
2. To drop wounded or dead, especially in battle.
3. To experience defeat or ruin: After 300 years the dynasty fell.
4. To lose office: The disgraced prime minister fell from power.
5. To lessen in amount or degree: The air pressure is falling.
6. To decline in financial value: Last year, stocks fell sharply.
7. To give in to temptation; sin.
8. Theology To lose primordial innocence and happiness. Used of humanity as a result of the Fall.
9. To lose one's chastity.
10. To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
11. To be given by right or inheritance.
To go or come as if by falling: All grief fell from our hearts. Night fell quickly.
To come to rest; settle: The light fell on my book.
To hang down: The child's hair fell in ringlets.
To be cast down: Her eyes fell.
To assume an expression of consternation or disappointment: His face fell when he heard the report.
To undergo conquest or capture, especially as the result of an armed attack: The city fell after a long siege.
1. To experience defeat or ruin: After 300 years the dynasty fell.
2. To lose office: The disgraced prime minister fell from power.
3. To lessen in amount or degree: The air pressure is falling.
4. To decline in financial value: Last year, stocks fell sharply.
5. To give in to temptation; sin.
6. Theology To lose primordial innocence and happiness. Used of humanity as a result of the Fall.
7. To lose one's chastity.
8. To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
9. To be given by right or inheritance.
To slope downward: The rolling hills fall gently toward the coast.
1. To lessen in amount or degree: The air pressure is falling.
2. To decline in financial value: Last year, stocks fell sharply.
3. To give in to temptation; sin.
4. Theology To lose primordial innocence and happiness. Used of humanity as a result of the Fall.
5. To lose one's chastity.
6. To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
7. To be given by right or inheritance.
To diminish in pitch or volume: My friend's voice fell to a whisper.
1. To give in to temptation; sin.
2. Theology To lose primordial innocence and happiness. Used of humanity as a result of the Fall.
3. To lose one's chastity.
4. To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
5. To be given by right or inheritance.
To pass into a particular state, condition, or situation: fell silent; fall in love.
To occur at a specified time: New Year's Day falls on a Tuesday this year.
To occur at a specified place: The stress falls on the last syllable.
To come, as by chance: fell among a band of thieves; a thought that fell into his mind.
1. To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
2. To be given by right or inheritance.
To be included within the range or scope of something: The specimens fall into three categories.
To come into contact; strike: My gaze fell on a small book in the corner.
To come out; issue: Insincere compliments fell from their lips.
To apply oneself: fell to work immediately.
To be born. Used chiefly of lambs.

v. tr.
To cut down (a tree); fell.

n.

The act or an instance of falling.
A sudden drop from a relatively erect to a less erect position.
Something that has fallen: a fall of hail.
1. An amount that has fallen: a fall of two inches of rain.
2. The distance that something falls: The victim suffered a fall of three stories to the ground.
3. A veil hung from a woman's hat and down her back.
4. An ornamental cascade of lace or trimming attached to a dress, usually at the collar.
5. A woman's hairpiece with long, free-hanging hair.
6. An overthrow; a collapse: the fall of a government.
7. Armed capture of a place under siege: the fall of Troy.
8. A moral lapse.
9. A loss of chastity.
10. The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
11. Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
12. A break or rise in the level of a deck.
13. falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
14. The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
15. All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
Autumn.
falls (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A waterfall.
A downward movement or slope.
Any of several pendent articles of dress, especially:
1. A veil hung from a woman's hat and down her back.
2. An ornamental cascade of lace or trimming attached to a dress, usually at the collar.
3. A woman's hairpiece with long, free-hanging hair.
4. An overthrow; a collapse: the fall of a government.
5. Armed capture of a place under siege: the fall of Troy.
6. A moral lapse.
7. A loss of chastity.
8. The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
9. Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
10. A break or rise in the level of a deck.
11. falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
12. The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
13. All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
1. An overthrow; a collapse: the fall of a government.
2. Armed capture of a place under siege: the fall of Troy.
3. A moral lapse.
4. A loss of chastity.
5. The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
6. Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
7. A break or rise in the level of a deck.
8. falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
9. The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
10. All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
A reduction in value, amount, or degree.
A marked, often sudden, decline in status, rank, or importance: "turned them in, set them up for prosecution; positioned them, as it were, for the fall" (Joan Didion).
1. A moral lapse.
2. A loss of chastity.
3. The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
4. Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
5. A break or rise in the level of a deck.
6. falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
7. The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
8. All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
often Fall Theology The loss of humanity's original innocence and happiness resulting from Adam and Eve's eating of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
Sports
1. The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
2. Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
3. A break or rise in the level of a deck.
4. falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
5. The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
6. All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
Nautical
1. A break or rise in the level of a deck.
2. falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
3. The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
4. All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
The end of a cable, rope, or chain that is pulled by the power source in hoisting.
1. The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
2. All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
A family of woodcock in flight. See Synonyms at flock¹.
Botany The outer series of perianth in the irises and related plants.

adj.

Of, having to do with, occurring in, or appropriate to the season of fall: fall fashion; fall harvests.
Grown during the season of fall: fall crops.
To break down; collapse: The rickety chair fell apart.
To suffer a nervous breakdown: He fell apart after years as a POW.
To withdraw one's friendship and support.
To become gradually diminished in size.
To drift off an established course.
To lose weight.
To give ground; retreat.
To recede: The waves fell back.
To fail to keep up a pace; lag behind.
To be financially in arrears.
To feel love for; be in love with.
To be deceived or swindled by: fell for the con artist's scheme and lost $200,000.
To take one's place in a military formation.
To sink inward; cave in: The roof of the old barn fell in.
To become less; decrease: Stock prices have fallen off. The number of staff meetings fell off after a few months.
To lose weight: Toward the end of the dry season, the cattle fall off rapidly.
Nautical To change course to leeward.
To attack suddenly and viciously: Snipers and irregulars fell on the hapless patrol.
To meet with; encounter: a stockbroker who fell on hard times.
1. To leave a barracks, for example, in order to take one's place in a military formation.
2. To leave a military formation.
To quarrel: The siblings fell out over their inheritance.
To happen; occur.
To be readily explainable; follow logically or naturally: These facts fall out nicely from the new theory.

Phrasal Verb(s):
fall apart

To break down; collapse: The rickety chair fell apart.
To suffer a nervous breakdown: He fell apart after years as a POW.

fall away

To withdraw one's friendship and support.
To become gradually diminished in size.
To drift off an established course.
To lose weight.

fall back

To give ground; retreat.
To recede: The waves fell back.

fall behind

To fail to keep up a pace; lag behind.
To be financially in arrears.

fall down
To fail to meet expectations; lag in performance: fell down on the job.
fall for

To feel love for; be in love with.
To be deceived or swindled by: fell for the con artist's scheme and lost $200,000.

fall in

To take one's place in a military formation.
To sink inward; cave in: The roof of the old barn fell in.

fall off

To become less; decrease: Stock prices have fallen off. The number of staff meetings fell off after a few months.
To lose weight: Toward the end of the dry season, the cattle fall off rapidly.
Nautical To change course to leeward.

fall on/upon

To attack suddenly and viciously: Snipers and irregulars fell on the hapless patrol.
To meet with; encounter: a stockbroker who fell on hard times.

fall out

1. To leave a barracks, for example, in order to take one's place in a military formation.
2. To leave a military formation.
To quarrel: The siblings fell out over their inheritance.
To happen; occur.
To be readily explainable; follow logically or naturally: These facts fall out nicely from the new theory.

fall through
To fail; miscarry: Our plans fell through at the last minute.
fall to
To begin an activity energetically: "The press fell to with a will" (Russell Baker).

Idiom(s):
fall back on/upon

To rely on: fall back on old friends in time of need.
To resort to: I had to fall back on my savings when I was unemployed.

Idiom(s):
fall between (the) two stools
To fail because of an inability to reconcile or choose between two courses of action.

Idiom(s):
fall flat

To fail miserably when attempting to achieve a result.
To have no effect: The jokes fell flat.

Idiom(s):
fall foul/afoul

Nautical To collide. Used of vessels.
To clash: fell foul of the law.

Idiom(s):
fall from grace
To experience a major reduction in status or prestige.

Idiom(s):
fall into line
To adhere to established rules or predetermined courses of action.

Idiom(s):
fall in with

To agree with or be in harmony with: Their views fall in with ours.
To associate or begin to associate with: fell in with the wrong crowd.

Idiom(s):
fall on deaf ears
To go unheeded; be ignored completely: "Moscow's own familiar charges . . . will also fall on deaf ears" (Foreign Affairs).

Idiom(s):
fall over backward/backwards
To overexert oneself to do or accomplish something: We fell over backward to complete the project on time.

Idiom(s):
fall over (oneself)
To display inordinate, typically effusive, enthusiasm: fell over themselves to impress the general's wife.

Idiom(s):
fall prey to
To be put into such a vulnerable position as to be at risk of harm, destruction, or invasion: a person who fell prey to swindlers; did not want the country to fall prey to terrorists.

Idiom(s):
fall short

To fail to attain a specified amount, level, or degree: an athlete whose skill fell far short of expectations.
To prove inadequate: Food supplies fell short.

Idiom(s):
fall through the cracks
To pass unnoticed, neglected, or unchecked: "In the past, many learning disabled children fell through the cracks" (Judith Harkness Richardson).

[Middle English fallen, from Old English feallan.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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