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:
"I was so red, my skin was so tight, then it would flake, then it would ooze, and then the cycle would begin again."
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
After deep contemplation, she despaired, writing: “Nature’s silence is its one remark, and every flake of world is a chip off that old mute and immutable block.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
Any while we’re on the subject of flavor, level up your loved one’s spice game with Flatiron Pepper Co.’s chili flake blends.
From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2024
He said digs at the site have turned up about 70 items ranging from flake stones to a rare example of an early ground stone.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 2, 2024
They couldn’t, and she slipped, and then tumbled down the hill like a flake in the wind.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
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
Tender flaked blue crab and summer squash add sweetness and depth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
You’ve just been flaked on and it hurts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 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
Dad had his work clothes on—old jeans and a T-shirt, both flaked a little with sawdust from the shop.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
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
I talked to some friends about flaking, asking them how many times is too many times for someone to cancel a plan, and found that, as with everything in life, context matters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 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
My trousers are tom and smeared with dirt—my boots’ leather is flaking off.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
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.
