flake
1 Americannoun
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a small, flat, thin piece, especially one that has been or become detached from a larger piece or mass.
flakes of old paint.
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any small piece or mass.
a flake of snow.
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a stratum or layer.
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Slang. an eccentric person; screwball.
My sister's new boyfriend is a real flake—I can't imagine why she goes out with him.
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Slang. cocaine.
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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)
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to peel off or separate in flakes.
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to fall in flakes, as snow.
verb (used with object)
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to remove in flakes.
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to break flakes or chips from; break into flakes.
to flake fish for a casserole.
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to cover with or as if with flakes.
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to form into flakes.
noun
noun
verb (used with object)
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fake.
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to lower (a fore-and-aft sail) so as to drape the sail equally on both sides over its boom.
verb (used without object)
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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.
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to fall asleep; take a nap (usually followed byout ).
She drank way too much and flaked out on my couch.
verb
noun
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a small thin piece or layer chipped off or detached from an object or substance; scale
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a small piece or particle
a flake of snow
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a thin layer or stratum
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archaeol
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a fragment removed by chipping or hammering from a larger stone used as a tool or weapon See also blade
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( as modifier )
flake tool
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slang an eccentric, crazy, or unreliable person
verb
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to peel or cause to peel off in flakes; chip
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to cover or become covered with or as with flakes
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(tr) to form into flakes
noun
noun
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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.
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See more at flake tool
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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
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”
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.
Vocabulary lists containing flake
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.
See Examples For:
"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
Every now and then a brittle piece of paper would flake off, and we’d all gasp.
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
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
Granite boulders were charred and flaked from the inferno.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2023
Within minutes, Sookie must have flaked enough scratch-ticket snow onto the floor mat to fill a coffee cup.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
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
Looking after dry skin every day with one—or all—of these natural remedies can alleviate uncomfortable itching and flaking all year long.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 7, 2024
It was white all over, but the white layer seemed to be flaking off.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2024
The long linear joints and the edges of scattered repairs are sites of significant flaking and paint loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2024
Across half one cheek and well down her neck, her flesh was stiff and dead, the skin cracked and flaking, mottled black and grey and stony to the touch.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
