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Synonyms

flask

1 American  
[flask, flahsk] / flæsk, flɑsk /

noun

  1. a bottle, usually of glass, having a rounded body and a narrow neck, used especially in laboratory experimentation.

  2. a flat metal or glass bottle for carrying in the pocket.

    a flask of brandy.

  3. an iron container for shipping mercury, holding a standard commercial unit of 76 pounds (34 kilograms).

  4. Metallurgy. a container into which sand is rammed around a pattern to form a mold.

flask 2 American  
[flask, flahsk] / flæsk, flɑsk /

noun

Ordnance.

  1. the armored plates making up the sides of a gun-carriage trail.

  2. Obsolete. the bed of a gun carriage.

flask British  
/ flɑːsk /

noun

  1. a bottle with a narrow neck, esp used in a laboratory or for wine, oil, etc

  2. Also called: hip flask.  a small flattened container of glass or metal designed to be carried in a pocket, esp for liquor

  3. See powder flask

  4. a container packed with sand to form a mould in a foundry

  5. See vacuum flask

  6. Also called: cask.   coffin.  engineering a container used for transporting irradiated nuclear fuel

"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
flask Scientific  
/ flăsk /

  1. A rounded container with a long neck, used in laboratories.

Etymology

Origin of flask1

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English: “cask, keg,” from Anglo-French, Old French flaske, Late Latin flasca, earlier flascō, of uncertain origin; compare Old English flasce, flaxe, Old High German flasca ( German flasche ); flagon

Origin of flask2

1570–80; < dialectal French flasque cheek of a gun carriage < Late Latin flasca flask 1

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.

He pulled out his water flask and bread and cheese and started eating ravenously.

From Literature

Frank produced sandwiches, and homemade honey flapjacks, and black coffee from a flask.

From Literature

Miss Mortimer lifted a flask of orange goo and gave it a thoughtful swirl.

From Literature

As for their governess, Miss Penelope Lumley: Her preparations involved making a trip to the kitchen for a flask of cold, fresh milk and a large supply of biscuits.

From Literature

He was handed a flask of hot chocolate and some warm clothes, before he and Josh were helped out of the mine to be reunited with Kate.

From BBC

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.