Wide vs. Flat

Wideadjective

Having a large physical extent from side to side.

‘We walked down a wide corridor.’;

Flatadjective

Having no variations in height.

‘The land around here is flat.’;

Wideadjective

Large in scope.

‘The inquiry had a wide remit.’;

Flatadjective

Without variations in pitch.

Wideadjective

(sports) Operating at the side of the playing area.

‘That team needs a decent wide player.’;

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.’;

Wideadjective

On one side or the other of the mark; too far sideways from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.

Flatadjective

Lowered by one semitone.

Wideadjective

Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the organs in the mouth.

Flatadjective

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

Wideadjective

Vast, great in extent, extensive.

‘The wide, lifeless expanse.’;

Flatadjective

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

Wideadjective

Remote; distant; far.

‘The hut was not wide from the sea.’; ‘The cabin is not wide from the lake.’;

Flatadjective

Uninteresting.

‘The party was a bit flat.’;

Wideadjective

(obsolete) Far from truth, propriety, necessity, etc.

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.

Wideadjective

(computing) Of or supporting a greater range of text characters than can fit into the traditional 8-bit representation.

‘a wide character; a wide stream’;

Flatadjective

(wine) Lacking acidity without being sweet.

Wideadverb

extensively

‘He travelled far and wide.’;

Flatadjective

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

Wideadverb

completely

‘He was wide awake.’;

Flatadjective

Without spin; spinless.

Wideadverb

away from a given goal

‘The arrow fell wide of the mark.’;

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.’;

Wideadverb

So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.

Flatadjective

Absolute; downright; peremptory.

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

Widenoun

(cricket) A ball that passes so far from the batsman that the umpire deems it unplayable; the arm signal used by an umpire to signal a wide; the extra run added to the batting side's score

Flatadjective

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

Wideadjective

Having considerable distance or extent between the sides; spacious across; much extended in a direction at right angles to that of length; not narrow; broad; as, wide cloth; a wide table; a wide highway; a wide bed; a wide hall or entry.

‘The chambers and the stables weren wyde.’; ‘Wide is the gate . . . that leadeth to destruction.’;

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.’;

Wideadjective

Having a great extent every way; extended; spacious; broad; vast; extensive; as, a wide plain; the wide ocean; a wide difference.

‘For sceptered cynics earth were far too wide a den.’; ‘When the wide bloom, on earth that lies,Seems of a brighter world than ours.’;

Flatadjective

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

Wideadjective

Of large scope; comprehensive; liberal; broad; as, wide views; a wide understanding.

‘Men of strongest head and widest culture.’;

Flatadjective

Flattening at the ends.

Wideadjective

Of a certain measure between the sides; measuring in a direction at right angles to that of length; as, a table three feet wide.

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.’;

Wideadjective

Remote; distant; far.

‘The contrary being so wide from the truth of Scripture and the attributes of God.’;

Flatadverb

So as to be flat.

‘Spread the tablecloth flat over the table.’;

Wideadjective

Far from truth, from propriety, from necessity, or the like.

‘It is far wide that the people have such judgments.’; ‘How wide is all this long pretense !’;

Flatadverb

Bluntly.

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

Wideadjective

On one side or the other of the mark; too far side-wise from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.

‘Surely he shoots wide on the bow hand.’; ‘I was but two bows wide.’;

Flatadverb

Not exceeding.

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

Wideadjective

Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the mouth organs; - opposed to primary as used by Mr. Bell, and to narrow as used by Mr. Sweet. The effect, as explained by Mr. Bell, is due to the relaxation or tension of the pharynx; as explained by Mr. Sweet and others, it is due to the action of the tongue. The wide of ē (ēve) is ĭ (ĭll); of ā (āte) is ĕ (ĕnd), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, 13-15.

Flatadverb

Completely.

‘I am flat broke this month.’;

Wideadjective

Having or showing a wide difference between the highest and lowest price, amount of supply, etc.; as, a wide opening; wide prices, where the prices bid and asked differ by several points.

Flatadverb

Directly; flatly.

Wideadverb

To a distance; far; widely; to a great distance or extent; as, his fame was spread wide.

‘[I] went wyde in this world, wonders to hear.’;

Flatadverb

Without allowance for accrued interest.

Wideadverb

So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.

Flatnoun

An area of level ground.

Wideadverb

So as to be or strike far from, or on one side of, an object or purpose; aside; astray.

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. ♭♪).

Widenoun

That which is wide; wide space; width; extent.

Flatnoun

A flat tyre/tire.

Widenoun

That which goes wide, or to one side of the mark.

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.’;

Wideadjective

having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other;

‘wide roads’; ‘a wide necktie’; ‘wide margins’; ‘three feet wide’; ‘a river two miles broad’; ‘broad shoulders’; ‘a broad river’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadjective

broad in scope or content;

‘across-the-board pay increases’; ‘an all-embracing definition’; ‘blanket sanctions against human-rights violators’; ‘an invention with broad applications’; ‘a panoptic study of Soviet nationality’; ‘granted him wide powers’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadjective

(used of eyes) fully open or extended;

‘listened in round-eyed wonder’; ‘stared with wide eyes’;

Flatnoun

The flat part of something:

Wideadjective

very large in expanse or scope;

‘a broad lawn’; ‘the wide plains’; ‘a spacious view’; ‘spacious skies’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadjective

great in degree;

‘won by a wide margin’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadjective

great in range or scope;

‘an extended vocabulary’; ‘surgeons with extended experience’; ‘extensive examples of picture writing’; ‘suffered extensive damage’; ‘a wide selection’;

Flatnoun

A wide, shallow container.

‘a flat of strawberries’;

Wideadjective

having ample fabric;

‘the current taste for wide trousers’; ‘a full skirt’;

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.

Wideadjective

not on target;

‘the kick was wide’; ‘the arrow was wide of the mark’; ‘a claim that was wide of the truth’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadverb

with or by a broad space;

‘stand with legs wide apart’; ‘ran wide around left end’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadverb

to the fullest extent possible;

‘open your eyes wide’; ‘with the throttle wide open’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadverb

far from the intended target;

‘the arrow went wide of the mark’; ‘a bullet went astray and killed a bystander’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadverb

to or over a great extent or range; far;

‘wandered wide through many lands’; ‘he traveled widely’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadjective

of great or more than average width

‘a wide road’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadjective

(after a measurement and in questions) from side to side

‘how wide do you think this house is?’; ‘it measures 15 cm long by 12 cm wide’;

Flatnoun

(obsolete) A dull fellow; a simpleton.

Wideadjective

open to the full extent

‘his eyes were wide with fear’;

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.

Wideadjective

considerable

‘tax revenues have undershot Treasury projections by a wide margin’;

Flatnoun

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

Wideadjective

including a great variety of people or things

‘a wide range of opinion’; ‘his wide circle of friends’;

Flatverb

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

Wideadjective

spread among a large number of people or over a large area

‘the government's desire for wider share ownership’;

Flatverb

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

Wideadjective

considering or dealing with the more general aspects of a situation, issue, etc.

‘the wider implications of the dispute’;

Flatverb

To fall from the pitch.

Wideadjective

extending over the whole of

‘an industry-wide trend’;

Flatverb

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

Wideadjective

at a considerable or specified distance from an intended point or target

‘the ball was wide of the leg stump’;

Flatverb

To make flat; to flatten; to level.

Wideadjective

(especially in soccer) at or near the side of the field

‘he played in a wide left position’;

Flatverb

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

Wideadverb

to the full extent

‘his eyes opened wide’;

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.’;

Wideadverb

far from a particular or intended point or target

‘his final touchline conversion drifted wide’;

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.’;

Wideadverb

(especially in football) at or near the side of the field

‘he will play wide on the right’;

Flatadjective

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

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

Widenoun

a ball that is judged to be too wide of the stumps for the batsman to play, for which an extra is awarded to the batting side.

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’;