flatten

American  

[flat-n] / ˈflæt n /

verb (used with object)

1. to make flat.

2. to knock down.

   The boxer flattened his opponent in the second round.

   Synonyms:

   floor, deck, prostrate, fell, ground

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verb (used without object)

1. to become flat.

verb phrase

1. flatten out to fly into a horizontal position, as after a dive.

2. flatten in flat.

flatten British  

/ ˈflætən /

verb

1. (sometimes foll by out) to make or become flat or flatter

2. informal (tr)

   1. to knock down or injure; prostrate

   2. to crush or subdue

      failure will flatten his self-esteem

3. Usual US word: flat.  (tr) music to lower the pitch of (a note) by one chromatic semitone

4. to manoeuvre an aircraft into horizontal flight, esp after a dive

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Other Word Forms

• flattener noun
• overflatten verb (used with object)
• unflattened adjective

Etymology

Origin of flatten

First recorded in 1620–30; flat ¹ + -en ¹

Example Sentences

The burned husks of thousands of homes have been flattened.

From Los Angeles Times

It began on Wednesday, as Ohio State was flattened by Miami in the Cotton Bowl.

From The Wall Street Journal

But England were bowling again before the end of the day as their batting was flattened in 29.5 overs.

From BBC

Regarding artificial intelligence, Slok notes that adoption rates are flattening out and that, outside of this tech subsector, U.S. corporate capital expenditures are not growing at all.

From MarketWatch

Where other shows would have flattened the tension between the men into a simplistic equation of a suitor terrified of his girlfriend’s father, the writers developed a different relationship for Reiner and Johnson.

From Salon

Related Words

• crush
• raze
• smash
• straighten