flake

¹ American  

[flayk] / 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  

[flayk] / fleɪk /

noun

1. a frame, as for drying fish.

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flake ³ American  

[flayk] / 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 ⁴ American  

[flayk] / 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 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 rack or platform for drying fish or other produce

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flake ⁴ 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 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

• flaker
  noun
• flakeless
  adjective

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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 flake²

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

Origin of flake³

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

Origin of flake⁴

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

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Explanation

A flake is a tiny piece of something. A flake could be a tasty morsel like a croissant flake, or a not so tasty morsel — like a dandruff flake. Ewww. In some places, you can see flakes of mica, a shiny glimmering mineral, lining the banks of a pond or paths through the woods. There are also croissant flakes, dandruff flakes, and of course snow flakes, individual snow crystals. When something flakes, it comes off in tiny flecks: "The paint had started to flake off the kitchen wall." If someone calls you a flake, they basically mean you're a weirdo.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flake flaked flaking

"This was not casual flake production, but a technology that required planning, precision, and a deep understanding of stone properties and fracture mechanics," says Zhao.

From Science Daily ● May 9, 2026

Its steel surface—unlike a coating that can flake off—is hardened through a process called nitriding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

Consumers view flake cereals “as more exiting and interesting than puff cereals,” she said.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2025

Due to tiny differences in atmospheric conditions, each flake will create a unique pattern.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2024

As I sprint faster, the layers I’ve built to protect myself since I crossed the border flake off, like scorched leaves on the trees along Kobani’s Aleppo Way.

From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell

It also works across the board: flaked salmon with lemon and herbs, crab with celery and a lot of black pepper.

From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2026

“I went from so-and-so to so-and-so, trying out studios, making promises I couldn’t keep. But all that stuff over the weeks just kind of flaked away.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2025

Tender flaked blue crab and summer squash add sweetness and depth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025

Mr Glauser said while his first choice remained Cadbury Flake 99, when they are unusable he turns to a German alternative marketed as "milk chocolate flaked sticks".

From BBC ● May 26, 2023

Local legend had it you couldn’t take three paces without stepping on broken glass, dog poo, or a rusty piece of the pool’s slippery metal slide that had flaked away.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

Most users who reported shedding also experienced other scalp symptoms, including itching, redness or flaking skin.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

Before the hosts can begin flaking it, however, the show pauses to consider why Americans eat so little fish compared with people in Japan.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

Qubein, the newly appointed president, took a tour with his two college-age daughters and saw rust flaking off an old shower head.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

However, they believe that theory ignores other evidence from Carlos's video - the aggressiveness of the flaking, the shape of the fins and the size of the shark.

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2024

It did not give up enough light even for Coraline to make out the things that had been painted onto the flaking cellar walls.

From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman

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