flake

¹ American  

[fleyk] / fleɪk /

noun

1. a small, flat, thin piece, especially one that has been or become detached from a larger piece or mass.

   flakes of old paint.

2. any small piece or mass.

   a flake of snow.

3. a stratum or layer.

4. Slang. an eccentric person; screwball.

   My sister's new boyfriend is a real flake—I can't imagine why she goes out with him.

5. Slang. cocaine.

6. a usually broad, often irregular piece of stone struck from a larger core and sometimes retouched to form a flake tool.

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verb (used without object)

flaked, flaking

1. to peel off or separate in flakes.

2. to fall in flakes, as snow.

verb (used with object)

flaked, flaking

1. to remove in flakes.

2. to break flakes or chips from; break into flakes.

   to flake fish for a casserole.

3. to cover with or as if with flakes.

4. to form into flakes.

flake ² American  

[fleyk] / fleɪk /

noun

1. a frame, as for drying fish.

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flake ³ American  

[fleyk] / fleɪk /

verb (used without object)

Slang.

flaked, flaking

1. to back out of a plan, promise, engagement, agreement, etc.; fail to follow through on something (usually followed byout ).

   We had a 3 o’clock appointment, but he flaked on me an hour before.

2. to fall asleep; take a nap (usually followed byout ).

   She drank way too much and flaked out on my couch.

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flake ⁴ American  

[fleyk] / fleɪk /

noun

1. fake.

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verb (used with object)

flaked, flaking

1. fake.

2. to lower (a fore-and-aft sail) so as to drape the sail equally on both sides over its boom.

flake ¹ British  

/ fleɪk /

noun

1. (in Australia) the commercial name for the meat of the gummy shark

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flake ² British  

/ fleɪk /

verb

1. nautical another word for fake 1

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flake ³ British  

/ fleɪk /

noun

1. a small thin piece or layer chipped off or detached from an object or substance; scale

2. a small piece or particle

   a flake of snow

3. a thin layer or stratum

4. archaeol

   1. a fragment removed by chipping or hammering from a larger stone used as a tool or weapon See also blade

   2. ( as modifier )

      flake tool

5. slang an eccentric, crazy, or unreliable person

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verb

1. to peel or cause to peel off in flakes; chip

2. to cover or become covered with or as with flakes

3. (tr) to form into flakes

flake ⁴ British  

/ fleɪk /

noun

1. a rack or platform for drying fish or other produce

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flake Scientific  

/ flāk /

1. A relatively thin, sharp-edged stone fragment removed from a core or from another flake by striking or prying, serving as a tool or blade itself or as a blank for making other tools.

2. See more at flake tool

3. A small, symmetrical, six-sided crystal of snow. Flakes can be large or small and wet or dry, depending on weather conditions. They are white in color because of their large number of reflecting surfaces.

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Other Word Forms

• flakeless adjective
• flaker noun

Etymology

Origin of flake¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; (noun) Middle English; akin to Old English flac- in flacox “flying (said of arrows),” Old Norse flakka “to rove, wander,” Middle Dutch vlacken “to flutter”; flake ¹ def. 4 by back formation from flaky, in sense “eccentric, odd”; (verb) late Middle English: “to fall in flakes,” derivative of the noun

Origin of flake¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English flake, fleke, from Old Norse flaki, fleki “bridge, hurdle”

Origin of flake¹

First recorded in 1935–40; perhaps expressive variant of flag ³; compare British dialect flack “to hang loosely, flap”

Origin of flake¹

First recorded in 1620–30; apparently variant of fake ²

Example Sentences

Squares of focaccia, still plush in the center and flecked with rosemary and fat flakes of sea salt.

From Salon

It’s no wonder the experience can feel oddly flat or stop-start, punctuated by small panics over whether it was two teaspoons or two tablespoons of red pepper flakes.

From Salon

I go heavy on the turbinado — those mammoth, amber flakes that look like tiny geological formations — and I don’t apologize for it.

From Salon

On this definition, three out of four Christmases since 1960 have seen at least a flake of snow fall somewhere in the UK.

From BBC

The smoked rainbow trout and slow-smoked mackerel with chili flakes are my personal favorites, but Fishwife’s selection includes salmon, tuna, mussels, sardines, and even beautifully packaged caviar.

From Salon

Related Words

• exfoliate
• sliver