flat-out
adjective
moving or working at top speed or with maximum effort; all-out.
flat-out
American
[flat-aut]
/ ˈflætˈaʊt /
adjective
Informal.
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moving or working at top speed or with maximum effort; all-out.
a flat-out effort by all contestants.
-
downright; thoroughgoing.
Many of the paintings were flat-out forgeries.
flat out
Idioms
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In a direct manner, bluntly. For example, He told the true story flat out . [ Colloquial ; mid-1900s]
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At top speed, as in She was running flat out to catch the train . [ Slang ; c. 1930]
Etymology
Origin of flat-out
First recorded in 1925–30
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:
When Eisenberg first met Moore, he told her flat-out, “I don’t want you to worry about this scene.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
As it turns out, I’m hardly the only person to have felt hoodwinked, bamboozled, and/or flat-out deceived by my smartphone’s forecasts in 2026.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
"I'm not trying to be negative but the Mercedes is flat-out quicker," Hamilton said.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Given all that, it is flat-out wrong to say that AI adoption is stagnating, says Ethan Mollick, a Wharton professor who studies how companies adopt AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
It’s starting to feel like springtime—the weather is flat-out warm this April morning.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
“Some just flat out don’t care,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
A short while ago, Keely Hodgkinson lay flat out on the track.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
In a subsequent statement in Parliament, Defence Minister Luke Pollard insisted the government was "not waiting" on the investment plan to announce further defence projects, but was "working flat out to" get the document published.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
“Everything that we’ve got running is going to be flat out for the rest of the year,” Fitterling said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
Even flat out it would take me three days, perhaps four, to reach Abol Bridge and the campground.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
