Steep vs. Flat

Steepadjective

Of a near-vertical gradient; of a slope, surface, curve, etc. that proceeds upward at an angle near vertical.

‘a steep hill or mountain; a steep roof; a steep ascent; a steep barometric gradient’;

Flatadjective

Having no variations in height.

‘The land around here is flat.’;

Steepadjective

(informal) expensive

‘Twenty quid for a shave? That's a bit steep.’;

Flatadjective

Without variations in pitch.

Steepadjective

(obsolete) Difficult to access; not easy reached; lofty; elevated; high.

Flatadjective

(slang) Describing certain features, usually the breasts and/or buttocks, that are extremely small or not visible at all.

‘That girl is completely flat on both sides.’;

Steepadjective

(of the rake of a ship's mast, or a car's windshield) resulting in a mast or windshield angle that strongly diverges from the perpendicular

‘The steep rake of the windshield enhances the fast lines of the exterior. [http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20070303/news_lz1dd3maynard.html]’;

Flatadjective

Lowered by one semitone.

Steepnoun

The steep side of a mountain etc.; a slope or acclivity.

Flatadjective

(music) Of a note or voice, lower in pitch than it should be.

Steepnoun

A liquid used in a steeping process

‘Corn steep has many industrial uses.’;

Flatadjective

(of a tire or other inflated object) Deflated, especially because of a puncture.

Steepnoun

A rennet bag.

Flatadjective

Uninteresting.

‘The party was a bit flat.’;

Steepverb

(ambitransitive) To soak an item (or to be soaked) in liquid in order to gradually add or remove components to or from the item

‘They steep skins in a tanning solution to create leather.’; ‘The tea is steeping.’;

Flatadjective

Of a carbonated drink, with all or most of its carbon dioxide having come out of solution so that the drink no longer fizzes or contains any bubbles.

Steepverb

(intransitive) To imbue with something.

‘a town steeped in history’;

Flatadjective

(wine) Lacking acidity without being sweet.

Steepadjective

Bright; glittering; fiery.

‘His eyen steep, and rolling in his head.’;

Flatadjective

(of a battery) Unable to emit power; dead.

Steepadjective

Making a large angle with the plane of the horizon; ascending or descending rapidly with respect to a horizontal line or a level; precipitous; as, a steep hill or mountain; a steep roof; a steep ascent; a steep declivity; a steep barometric gradient.

Flatadjective

Without spin; spinless.

Steepadjective

Difficult of access; not easily reached; lofty; elevated; high.

Flatadjective

(figurative) Lacking liveliness or action; depressed; dull and boring.

‘The market is flat.’; ‘The dialogue in your screenplay is flat -- you need to make it more exciting.’;

Steepadjective

Excessive; as, a steep price.

Flatadjective

Absolute; downright; peremptory.

‘His claim was in flat contradiction to experimental results.’; ‘I'm not going to the party and that's flat.’;

Steepverb

To soak in a liquid; to macerate; to extract the essence of by soaking; as, to soften seed by steeping it in water. Often used figuratively.

‘Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep.’; ‘In refreshing dew to steepThe little, trembling flowers.’; ‘The learned of the nation were steeped in Latin.’;

Flatadjective

sonant; vocal, as distinguished from a sharp (non-sonant) consonant

Steepverb

To undergo the process of soaking in a liquid; as, the tea is steeping.

Flatadjective

(grammar) Not having an inflectional ending or sign, such 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', etc. are from Old English.’;

Steepnoun

Something steeped, or used in steeping; a fertilizing liquid to hasten the germination of seeds.

Flatadjective

Having a head at a very obtuse angle to the shaft.

Steepnoun

A rennet bag.

Flatadjective

Flattening at the ends.

Steepnoun

A precipitous place, hill, mountain, rock, or ascent; any elevated object sloping with a large angle to the plane of the horizon; a precipice.

‘We had on each side naked rocks and mountains broken into a thousand irregular steeps and precipices.’; ‘Bare steeps, where desolation stalks.’;

Flatadjective

Lacking in depth, substance, or believability; underdeveloped; one-dimensional.

‘The author created the site to flesh out the books' flatter characters, who were actually quite well developed in her own mind.’;

Steepnoun

a steep place (as on a hill)

Flatadverb

So as to be flat.

‘Spread the tablecloth flat over the table.’;

Steepverb

engross (oneself) fully;

‘He immersed himself into his studies’;

Flatadverb

Bluntly.

‘I asked him if he wanted to marry me and he turned me down flat.’;

Steepverb

let sit in a liquid to extract a flavor or to cleanse;

‘steep the blossoms in oil’; ‘steep the fruit in alcohol’;

Flatadverb

Not exceeding.

‘He can run a mile in four minutes flat.’;

Steepadjective

having a sharp inclination;

‘the steep attic stairs’; ‘steep cliffs’;

Flatadverb

Completely.

‘I am flat broke this month.’;

Steepadjective

greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation;

‘exorbitant rent’; ‘extortionate prices’; ‘spends an outrageous amount on entertainment’; ‘usorious interest rate’; ‘unconscionable spending’;

Flatadverb

Directly; flatly.

Steepadjective

of a slope; set at a high angle;

‘note the steep incline’; ‘a steep roof sheds snow’;

Flatadverb

Without allowance for accrued interest.

Flatnoun

An area of level ground.

Flatnoun

(music) A note played a semitone lower than a natural, denoted by the symbol ♭ sign placed after the letter representing the note (e.g., B♭) or in front of the note symbol (e.g. ♭♪).

Flatnoun

A flat tyre/tire.

Flatnoun

(in the plural) A type of ladies' shoes with very low heels.

‘She liked to walk in her flats more than in her high heels.’;

Flatnoun

(in the plural) A type of flat-soled running shoe without spikes.

Flatnoun

(painting) A thin, broad brush used in oil and watercolor/watercolour painting.

Flatnoun

The flat part of something:

Flatnoun

(swordfighting) The flat side of a blade, as opposed to the sharp edge.

Flatnoun

The palm of the hand, with the adjacent part of the fingers.

Flatnoun

A wide, shallow container.

‘a flat of strawberries’;

Flatnoun

(mail) A large mail piece measuring at least 8 1/2 by 11 inches, such as catalogs, magazines, and unfolded paper enclosed in large envelopes.

Flatnoun

(geometry) A subset of n-dimensional space that is congruent to a Euclidean space of lower dimension.

Flatnoun

A flat-bottomed boat, without keel, and of small draught.

Flatnoun

A straw hat, broad-brimmed and low-crowned.

Flatnoun

A railroad car without a roof, and whose body is a platform without sides; a platform car or flatcar.

Flatnoun

A platform on a wheel, upon which emblematic designs etc. are carried in processions.

Flatnoun

(mining) A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.

Flatnoun

(obsolete) A dull fellow; a simpleton.

Flatnoun

(technical, theatre) A rectangular wooden structure covered with masonite, lauan, or muslin that depicts a building or other part of a scene, also called backcloth and backdrop.

Flatnoun

An apartment, usually on one level and usually consisting of more than one room.

Flatverb

(poker slang) To make a flat call; to call without raising.

Flatverb

(intransitive) To become flat or flattened; to sink or fall to an even surface.

Flatverb

To fall from the pitch.

Flatverb

To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone.

Flatverb

To make flat; to flatten; to level.

Flatverb

To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress.

Flatadjective

Having an even and horizontal surface, or nearly so, without prominences or depressions; level without inclination; plane.

‘Though sun and moonWere in the flat sea sunk.’;

Flatadjective

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.’;

Flatadjective

Wanting relief; destitute of variety; without points of prominence and striking interest.

‘A large part of the work is, to me, very flat.’;

Flatadjective

Tasteless; stale; vapid; insipid; dead; as, fruit or drink flat to the taste.

Flatadjective

Unanimated; dull; uninteresting; without point or spirit; monotonous; as, a flat speech or composition.

‘How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitableSeem to me all the uses of this world.’;

Flatadjective

Lacking liveliness of commercial exchange and dealings; depressed; dull; as, the market is flat.

Flatadjective

Clear; unmistakable; peremptory; absolute; positive; downright.

‘Flat burglary as ever was committed.’; ‘A great tobacco taker too, - that's flat.’;

Flatadjective

Below the true pitch; hence, as applied to intervals, minor, or lower by a half step; as, a flat seventh; A flat.

Flatadjective

Sonant; vocal; - applied to any one of the sonant or vocal consonants, as distinguished from a nonsonant (or sharp) consonant.

Flatadjective

Having a head at a very obtuse angle to the shaft; - said of a club.

Flatadjective

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 -ë, the loss of this ending having made them like the adjectives. Some having forms in ly, such as exceeding, wonderful, true, are now archaic.

Flatadjective

Flattening at the ends; - said of certain fruits.

‘Of all who fell by saber or by shot,Not one fell half so flat as Walter Scott.’;

Flatadverb

In a flat manner; directly; flatly.

‘Sin is flat opposite to the Almighty.’;

Flatadverb

Without allowance for accrued interest.

Flatnoun

A level surface, without elevation, relief, or prominences; an extended plain; specifically, in the United States, a level tract along the along the banks of a river; as, the Mohawk Flats.

‘Envy is as the sunbeams that beat hotter upon a bank, or steep rising ground, than upon a flat.’;

Flatnoun

A level tract lying at little depth below the surface of water, or alternately covered and left bare by the tide; a shoal; a shallow; a strand.

‘Half my power, this nightPassing these flats, are taken by the tide.’;

Flatnoun

Something broad and flat in form

Flatnoun

The flat part, or side, of anything; as, the broad side of a blade, as distinguished from its edge.

Flatnoun

A floor, loft, or story in a building;

Flatnoun

A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.

Flatnoun

A dull fellow; a simpleton; a numskull.

‘Or if you can not make a speech,Because you are a flat.’;

Flatnoun

A character [$] before a note, indicating a tone which is a half step or semitone lower.

Flatnoun

A homaloid space or extension.

Flatverb

To make flat; to flatten; to level.

Flatverb

To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress.

‘Passions are allayed, appetites are flatted.’;

Flatverb

To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone.

Flatverb

To become flat, or flattened; to sink or fall to an even surface.

Flatverb

To fall form the pitch.

Flatnoun

a level tract of land

Flatnoun

a shallow box in which seedlings are started

Flatnoun

a musical notation indicating one half step lower than the note named

Flatnoun

freight car without permanent sides or roof

Flatnoun

a deflated pneumatic tire

Flatnoun

scenery consisting of a wooden frame covered with painted canvas; part of a stage setting

Flatnoun

a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house

Flatadjective

having a horizontal surface in which no part is higher or lower than another;

‘a flat desk’; ‘acres of level farmland’; ‘a plane surface’;

Flatadjective

having no depth or thickness

Flatadjective

not modified or restricted by reservations;

‘a categorical denial’; ‘a flat refusal’;

Flatadjective

stretched out and lying at full length along the ground;

‘found himself lying flat on the floor’;

Flatadjective

lacking contrast or shading between tones

Flatadjective

lowered in pitch by one chromatic semitone;

‘B flat’; ‘C sharp’;

Flatadjective

flattened laterally along the whole length (e.g., certain leafstalks or flatfishes)

Flatadjective

lacking taste or flavor or tang;

‘a bland diet’; ‘insipid hospital food’; ‘flavorless supermarket tomatoes’; ‘vapid beer’; ‘vapid tea’;

Flatadjective

lacking stimulating characteristics; uninteresting;

‘a bland little drama’; ‘a flat joke’;

Flatadjective

having lost effervescence;

‘flat beer’; ‘a flat cola’;

Flatadjective

not increasing as the amount taxed increases

Flatadjective

not made with leavening;

‘most flat breads are made from unleavened dough’;

Flatadjective

parallel to the ground;

‘a flat roof’;

Flatadjective

without pleats

Flatadjective

lacking the expected range or depth; not designed to give an illusion or depth;

‘a film with two-dimensional characters’; ‘a flat two-dimensional painting’;

Flatadjective

(of a tire) completely or partially deflated

Flatadjective

not reflecting light; not glossy;

‘flat wall paint’; ‘a photograph with a matte finish’;

Flatadjective

lacking variety in shading;

‘a flat unshaded painting’;

Flatadverb

at full length;

‘he fell flat on his face’;

Flatadverb

with flat sails;

‘sail flat against the wind’;

Flatadverb

below the proper pitch;

‘she sang flat last night’;

Flatadverb

against a flat surface;

‘he lay flat on his back’;

Flatadverb

in a forthright manner; candidly or frankly;

‘he didn't answer directly’; ‘told me straight out’; ‘came out flat for less work and more pay’;

Flatadverb

wholly or completely;

‘He is flat broke’;

Flatadjective

having a level surface; without raised areas or indentations

‘he sat down on a flat rock’; ‘trim the surface of the cake to make it completely flat’;

Flatadjective

(of land) without hills

‘thirty-five acres of flat countryside’;

Flatadjective

(of an expanse of water) calm and without waves.

Flatadjective

not sloping

‘the flat roof of a garage’;

Flatadjective

having a broad level surface but little height or depth; shallow

‘a flat rectangular box’; ‘a flat cap’;

Flatadjective

(of shoes) without heels or with very low heels.

Flatadjective

lacking emotion; dull and lifeless

‘‘I'm sorry,’ he said, in a flat voice’;

Flatadjective

(of a person) without energy or enthusiasm

‘his sense of intoxication wore off until he felt flat and weary’;

Flatadjective

(of trade, prices, etc.) not showing much activity; sluggish

‘the UK housing market was flat’;

Flatadjective

(of a colour) uniform

‘a flat shade of grey’;

Flatadjective

(of a photograph or negative) lacking contrast.

Flatadjective

(of a sparkling drink) having lost its effervescence

‘she sipped some of the flat champagne’;

Flatadjective

(of something kept inflated, especially a tyre) having lost some or all of its air, typically because of a puncture.

Flatadjective

(of a battery) having exhausted its charge.

Flatadjective

(of a fee, wage, or price) the same in all cases, not varying with changed conditions or in particular cases

‘a flat fare of £2.50’;

Flatadjective

(of a denial, contradiction, or refusal) completely definite and firm; absolute

‘the request was met with a flat refusal’;

Flatadjective

(of musical sound) below true or normal pitch.

Flatadjective

(of a key) having a flat or flats in the signature.

Flatadjective

(of a note) a semitone lower than a specified note

‘E flat’;

Flatadjective

relating to flat racing

‘the Flat season’;

Flatadverb

in or to a horizontal position

‘she had been knocked flat by the blast’; ‘he was lying flat on his back’;

Flatadverb

lying in close juxtaposition, especially against another surface

‘his black curly hair was blown flat across his skull’;

Flatadverb

so as to become smooth and even

‘I hammered the metal flat’;

Flatadverb

completely; absolutely

‘I thought you'd turn me down flat’; ‘Myers was flat broke’;

Flatadverb

used with an expression of time to emphasize how quickly something can be done or has been done

‘you can prepare a healthy meal in ten minutes flat’;

Flatadverb

below the true or normal pitch of musical sound

‘it wasn't a question of singing flat, but of simply singing the wrong notes’;

Flatnoun

the flat part of something

‘she placed the flat of her hand over her glass’;

Flatnoun

an area of low level ground, especially near water

‘the shingle flats of the lake’;

Flatnoun

a shallow container in which seedlings are grown and sold.

Flatnoun

a shoe with a very low heel or no heel

‘she wore a white strapless dress and a pair of electric blue flats’;

Flatnoun

a railway wagon with a flat floor and no sides or roof; a flatcar.

Flatnoun

an upright section of stage scenery mounted on a movable frame.

Flatnoun

a flat tyre

‘I've got a flat—there were nails under the wheel’;

Flatnoun

flat racing.

Flatnoun

a musical note lowered a semitone below natural pitch.

Flatnoun

the sign ♭, indicating a flat.

Flatnoun

a set of rooms forming an individual residence, typically on one floor and within a larger building containing a number of such residences.

‘a block of flats’;

Flatverb

lower (a note) by a semitone

‘‘blue’ harmony emphasizing the flatted third and seventh’;

Flatverb

make flat; flatten

‘flat the loaves down’;

Flatverb

live in or share a flat

‘Zoë flats in Auckland’;