flake
1a small, flat, thin piece, especially one that has been or become detached from a larger piece or mass: flakes of old paint.
any small piece or mass: a flake of snow.
a stratum or layer.
Slang. an eccentric person; screwball: My sister's new boyfriend is a real flake—I can't imagine why she goes out with him.
Slang. cocaine.
a usually broad, often irregular piece of stone struck from a larger core and sometimes retouched to form a flake tool.
to peel off or separate in flakes.
to fall in flakes, as snow.
to remove in flakes.
to break flakes or chips from; break into flakes: to flake fish for a casserole.
to cover with or as if with flakes.
to form into flakes.
Origin of flake
1Other words from flake
- flakeless, adjective
- flaker, noun
Other definitions for flake (2 of 4)
a frame, as for drying fish.
Origin of flake
2Other definitions for flake (3 of 4)
to lower (a fore-and-aft sail) so as to drape the sail equally on both sides over its boom.
Origin of flake
3Other definitions for flake (4 of 4)
to back out of a plan, promise, engagement, agreement, etc.; fail to follow through on something (usually followed by out): We had a 3 o’clock appointment, but he flaked on me an hour before.
to fall asleep; take a nap (usually followed by out): She drank way too much and flaked out on my couch.
Origin of flake
4Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use flake in a sentence
He called it a flaker, and he used it to press off tiny flakes from the beautiful point.
The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth DoppSo he listened to the story that Scarface told of the young man who first made a flaker.
The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth DoppOne day when the boys were flaking spear points, Fleetfoot turned to Flaker and said, “Do you know who made the first flaker?”
The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth DoppSo Greybeard and Fleetfoot lifted Flaker and carried him gently down to the spring.
The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth DoppAnd so Flaker busied himself in the workshop when the men went out to hunt.
The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth Dopp
British Dictionary definitions for flake (1 of 4)
/ (fleɪk) /
a small thin piece or layer chipped off or detached from an object or substance; scale
a small piece or particle: a flake of snow
a thin layer or stratum
archaeol
a fragment removed by chipping or hammering from a larger stone used as a tool or weapon: See also blade
(as modifier): flake tool
slang, mainly US an eccentric, crazy, or unreliable person
to peel or cause to peel off in flakes; chip
to cover or become covered with or as with flakes
(tr) to form into flakes
Origin of flake
1Derived forms of flake
- flaker, noun
British Dictionary definitions for flake (2 of 4)
/ (fleɪk) /
a rack or platform for drying fish or other produce
Origin of flake
2British Dictionary definitions for flake (3 of 4)
/ (fleɪk) /
nautical another word for fake 1
British Dictionary definitions for flake (4 of 4)
/ (fleɪk) /
(in Australia) the commercial name for the meat of the gummy shark
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for flake
[ flāk ]
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. See more at flake tool.
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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