flak
Americannoun
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antiaircraft fire, especially as experienced by the crews of combat airplanes at which the fire is directed.
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criticism; hostile reaction; abuse.
Such an unpopular decision is bound to draw a lot of flak from the press.
noun
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anti-aircraft fire or artillery
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informal a great deal of adverse criticism
Etymology
Origin of flak
1935–40; < German Fl ( ieger ) a ( bwehr ) k ( anone ) antiaircraft gun, equivalent to Flieger aircraft (literally, flyer) + Abwehr defense + Kanone gun, cannon
Explanation
If you’re taking flak, chances are you’re in a bad situation and taking fire from an enemy. Flak can refer to criticism — or worse, explosive shells from an antiaircraft weapon. Flak came into English as an abbreviation for the German word Fliegerabwehrkanone, meaning 'aircraft-defense gun.' (Yikes! No wonder they abbreviated it.) If you’re dealing with a lot of flak, you’re either in a fighter plane over enemy territory drawing shots, or you’re dealing with a volley of criticism that seems like antiaircraft fire. If you show up late for work for a third day, you’ll probably take some flak from your coworkers — they’ll take verbal shots at you.
Vocabulary lists containing flak
The Things They Carried
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Fallen Angels
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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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.
Microsoft is among the data-center developers catching flak for lofty capital expenditures in the face of the data-center buildout.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
Bonus points caught some flak at the end of the Six Nations.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
Which is why SJU brought him in, agreed to absorb the flak, and offered a shot at redemption.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
His comments about the New York Fed researchers needing to be “disciplined,” meanwhile, drew flak from respected economists including Claudia Sahm.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 18, 2026
Snowden was lying on his back on the floor with his legs stretched out, still burdened cumbersomely by his flak suit, his flak helmet, his parachute harness and his Mae West.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
