flack
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of flack
1935–40; said to be after Gene Flack, a movie publicity agent
Explanation
If someone gives you flack about wearing shorts in the winter, tell them to chill out. Flack is a criticism. Flack also refers to anti-aircraft guns, and then sometimes it’s spelled flak. Flack as a criticism comes from the military sense, as it feels like an attack. A flack (or flak) jacket will protect your body from projectiles, but it doesn’t protect you from insults. Flack is also a word for a promoter. If you publish a book, you’ll need to flack — or promote it — yourself or hire a professional flack who will convince everyone to buy it. The German root is Fliegerabwehrkanone, "aviator-defense gun."
Vocabulary lists containing flack
Love Radio
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All Boys Aren't Blue
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the run-up to voting day, Bobi Wine has been campaigning across the country, often wearing a protective flack jacket and helmet.
From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026
When Geiger caught flack for prescribing food instead of drugs, he replied, “The last time I looked at my textbooks, the most specific therapy for malnutrition was food.”
From Salon • Jan. 9, 2025
Before they could speak more than a few words, a flack following the senator handed them business cards and told them to reach out to the office with any questions.
From Slate • Feb. 22, 2024
“Wearing this uniform, you get a lot of flack, and guys are watching you under a microscope as a team,” Davis said.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2024
Dale replied he’d had just about enough of setting by the shipping lane in soup fog for a dozen silvers, a few dogfish, a couple of hake, and what’s more taking flack off his radio.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
