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level and smooth, with no curved, high, or hollow parts:
An ice rink needs to be completely flat.
Roll out the pastry on a flat surface.
Much of the countryside in that region is very flat.
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level but having little or no height:
flat shoes (= ones without a raised heel)
Pitta and nan are two types of flat bread.
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not interesting, or without emotion or excitement:
After the excitement of the party, life seems somewhat flat now.
I thought her performance a little flat.
I think the colours in this painting are kind of flat (= not varied or bright).
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with no electrical power left in it:
I left my car lights on and now the battery is flat.
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If a drink is flat, it has stopped being fizzy (= with bubbles):
If you don't put the top back on that bottle of beer, it will go flat.
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complete or certain, and not likely to change:
His request for time off work was met with a flat refusal.
The official has issued a flat denial of the accusations against her.
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If something such as a tyre or ball is flat, it does not contain enough air:
I got a flat tyre (= the air went out of it) after driving over a nail.
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(especially of an amount of money) fixed and not likely to change:
We charge a flat fee/rate of $25 per hour.
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If profits, sales, etc. are flat, they are not growing or increasing:
Demand for our machinery abroad is increasing, while growth is flat at home.
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a set of rooms for living in that are part of a larger building and are usually all on one floor:
a furnished/unfurnished flat
a block of flats
They have a house in the country and a flat in Manchester.
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an area of low, level ground, often near water:
The salt flats are used for motor racing.
The mud flats attract large numbers of birds.
He hit me with the flat of his hand.
Most of the path is on the flat.
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a tyre that does not have any or enough air in it :
We were late because we had to stop and fix a flat.
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women's shoes without high heels:
I feel more comfortable in flats.
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(a symbol for) a note that is a semitone lower than a stated note
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(in music) lower than a particular note or the correct note:
The top string on your violin is flat.
She sang flat throughout the song (= all the notes she sang were too low).
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in a level position, often against another surface:
Lay the cloth flat across the table.
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into a flat shape without height:
These patio chairs will fold flat for storage.
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completely or to the greatest degree possible:
She told him flat that she would not go to the show.
Could you lend me some money, I'm flat broke (= I have no money).
We managed to get to the station in five minutes flat.
My car only does about 60 mph, even when it's going flat out.
We've been working flat out to get this done.
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level and smooth; having little or no height and not raised or round:
A desk provides a flat surface to work on.
Campers look for flat ground to put up their tents.
If you don’t put the top back on the soda bottle, it will go flat.
One of my tires is flat and I’ll have to change it.
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complete and certain:
His request for time off from work was met with a flat refusal.
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(esp. of an amount of money) not changing or varying:
We charge a flat rate of $25 per hour.
Sales are flat (= low and not changing) during this time of year.
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lower in pitch than a particular or the correct note
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an apartment:
They have a house in the country and a flat in London.
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something flat, esp. a tire that has lost its air, so that it does not give the support that it should:
We pulled off to the side of the road to change a flat.
He swatted the table with the flat of his hand.
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a mark in written music showing that a note should be played a half step lower
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in a level position, often against another surface:
He hurt his back and could only sleep lying flat on his back.
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completely, or to the greatest degree possible:
When he asked for a raise, the boss turned him down flat.
I’m flat broke (= I have no money).
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exactly:
We managed to get to the station in five minutes flat.
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if profits, sales, etc. are flat, they are not growing or increasing:
Demand for our machinery abroad is increasing, while growth is flat at home.
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if the stock market is flat, the prices of shares are not rising or falling:
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fixed and without any additional costs:
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used to describe the structure of an organization in which there are not many different levels of employees between the top and the bottom:
Companies with a flat organizational structure can usually make decisions more quickly.
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a set of rooms for living in which are part of a larger building and which are usually all on one floor:
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to be unsuccessful:
The deal fell flat when the two sides could not agree on the terms of the contract.
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as hard or as fast as possible:
Towards the end of the project the whole department was working flat out to meet the deadlines.