flake

¹

[fleyk]

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.

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

[fleyk]

noun

1. a frame, as for drying fish.

flake

³

[fleyk]

noun

1. fake.

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

[fleyk]

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.

flake

¹

/ 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

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

²

/ fleɪk /

noun

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

flake

³

/ fleɪk /

verb

1. nautical another word for fake 1

flake

⁴

/ fleɪk /

noun

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

flake

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.

Other Word Forms

• flakeless adjective
• flaker noun

Word History and Origins

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of flake¹

C14: of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian flak disc, Middle Dutch vlacken to flutter

Origin of flake²

C14: from Old Norse flaki ; related to Dutch vlaak hurdle

Example Sentences

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

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She holds a glass container filled with millions of microscopic gold flakes suspended in a salt solution.

Read more on Science Daily

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

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Scientists have developed a promising cancer therapy that uses LED light and ultra-thin flakes of tin to eliminate cancer cells while protecting healthy tissue.

Read more on Science Daily

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

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• exfoliate 
• sliver