stomach after having a baby. Ffs St bP «Bc -7 o o The sails hung limply in the flat calm (= conditions at sea when there is no wind and the water is completely level). MXv&ft > MtlAcAli&li ft #0 2 (of land ±itk) without any slopes or hills -f-ig (ft: The road stretched ahead across the flat landscape.

3 (ofsurfaces^®)

smooth and even; without lumps or holes X ?# (ft :

I need a flat surface to write on.

77 o We found a large flat rock to sit on. fSdifcT-* $

                 NOT HIGH ft (Wj 4 broad but not very high ft (ft : Chapattis are a kind of flat Indian bread. * chapatti fk

W0 0 flat shoes (= with no heels or very low ones) ft#!!$£; ftjfcH

                 DULL ft j$: 5 dull; lacking interest or enthusiasm ft#

(ft ; ft 2. ft; If (ft : He felt very flat after his

friends had gone home, ft (ft JU1Mfl 0 Mfs, ft f >J ft57

MBo

                 VOICE ft6 not showing much emotion; not changing much in tone fttjfc(ft; (ft: Her voice was flat and expressionless. ^(ftT^ft^Mft^o

                 COLOURS/PICTURES M it ffl ® 7 very smooth, with no

contrast between light and dark, and giving no impres­sion of depth          AcIx.lElft;    Acrylic

paints can be used to create large, flat blocks of colour. ®

                 BUSINESS iff] 4k 8 not very successful because very little

is being sold ft jp: ft (ft ;         The

housing market has been flat for months. ^JtTfr^BTf

                 REFUSAL/DENIAL ft ^ (A 9 [only before noun] not allowing discussion or argument; definite $fr$£(ft;

(ft: Her request was met with aflat refusal. ft (ft if $fr ft » 0 He gave a flat ‘No!’ to one reporter’s ques­tion.    H “*!

                 IN MUSIC if 7 18 used after the name of a note to

mean a note a semitone/half tone lower (ft; -ftfrlTJ: That note should be B flat, not B.       ft

I# B Mftft B |f0 — picture o music mm sharp compare natural adj.{9) 11 below the correct pitch (= how high or low a note sounds)

(ft; fiHft (ft: The high notes were slightly flat, i=f

BfArflH&o H2J sharp

                 DRINK ftft 12 no longer having bubbles in it; not fresh

ft 7 ft (ft;      (ft: The soda was warm and had gone

flat.&HMlaw, Bft7ft0

                 BATTERY ft ft 13 {BrE) unable to supply any more elec­tricity ftftft7 ift

                 TYRE m Jfe 14 not containing enough air, usually because of a hole M 7 64; it 7 H (ft

                 FEET ft 15 with no natural raised curves underneath !m 7 (ft; ft^TABlft — see also flat-footed

flat ness noun [U] Ifilfll and .that’s 'flat! (BrE, informal) that is my final decision and I will not change my mind ft. tfc Ji §   ft: You can’t go and that’s flat! jfc 7 B

tfeft#! as .flat as a 'pancake completely flat % ftXft — more at back n., spin n. mnoun

                 ROOMS |h] 1 [C] {BrE) a set of rooms for living in,

including a kitchen, usually on one floor of a building - if fe la];   ^7E : Do you live in a flat or a

house?       0 They’re renting a

furnished flat on the third floor. ftCJjS.7

o a ground-floor flat        —^    o a

new block of flats - fr il (ft ft 0 Many large old houses have been converted into flats.   B

ftilJ&Jp-TtAl-o 0 Children from the flats (= the block of flats) across the street were playing outside. ifjMWi'&'M — picture o page R23

compare apartment

                 LEVEL PART -f-ffifpft 2 [sing.] the ~ of sth the flat level part of sth ( ^ (ft ) X If] nP ft: He beat on the door with the flat of his hand. Wfa -7^ tT H o o the flat of a sword if!]®

                 LAND ±ft 3 [C, usually pi ] an area of low flat land, espe­cially near water ( At If/Jc ft (ft ) 7-ife; IS : salt flats — see also mudflat

                 HORSE RACING f&B, 4 the flat, the Flat [sing.] {BrE) the season for racing horses on flat ground with no jumps

                 IN MUSIC 4! 7 5 [C] a note played a semitone/half

tone lower than the note that is named. The written symbol is ([>). |^7l=f;          There are no sharps

or flats in the key of C major. * C 7i)f

7^3 o mm sharp — compare natural n. (2)

                 TYRE Hn ® lcl (especially NAmE) a tyre that has lost air, usually because of a hole

We got aflat on the way home.    'h

fkfln MH M To owe had to stop to fix a flat,

                 IN THEATRE /4JIfl 7 [C] {technical Tfvig) a vertical section of scenery used on a theatre stage J:.; Zffjp;#

                 SHOES ^ 8 flats [pi.] = flatties

fJiTTHI on the flat (Br£) on level ground, without hills or jumps (= for example in horse racing) /HT-Jfe-t

madv. {comparative fiat-ter, no superlative)

                 LEVEL /jc f itk 1 spread out in a level, straight position,

especially against another surface ( X fa !£ # ^ ^

ffi )     T-ffllifo : Lie flat and breathe deeply. ^

0 They pressed themselves flat against the tunnel wall as the train approached, /c$ B4ftfeCl If

miiim*

                 REFUSING/DENYING ^ if 2 (Br£) {NAmE .flat 'out)

(1informal) in a definite and direct way   1lII 7 ^

ffe: She told me flat she would not speak to me again.

ol made them a

reasonable offer but they turned it down flat.

                 IN MUSIC ft 7 3 lower than the correct pitch (= how

high or low a note sounds) {E£7^?f£i=f?!i: He sings flat all the time. 7#0 mm sharp

imi 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 (

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.     ij|7U(7. flat

broke {BrE also stony 'broke) {informal) completely broke         flat

out (informal) 1 as fast or as hard as possible         dk

f]      Workers are working flat out to meet the rise in

demand for new cars.         XA

IE^Aj lAXti&XfK 2 {especially NAmE) in a definite and direct way; completely 7 ^: I told him flat out ‘No’.  “X” c 0 It’s a 30-year

mortgage we just flat out can’t handle,

30      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 ( -^j£RXl0]#JisJi£37ff!,

% flMfc ) 7 • • •, M 7 ■ • •, M: They changed the wheel in three minutes flat (= in exactly three minutes), ilk ill

m verb (-tt-) [V] {AustralE, NZE) to live in or share a flat/ apartment ft ^ ; ft ft £ 'M : My sister Zoe flats in Auckland. »**ftftftft ift ~WiT& S „

flat-bed /'flaetbed/ noun 1 = flatbed scanner 2 (also .flatbed ‘truck, .flatbed trailer) (especially NAmE) an