flatten

[flat-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

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of flatten¹

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

Example Sentences

For the first time in weeks, people entered the Sheikh Radwan, Karama and Beach Camp areas and found entire residential blocks flattened, hundreds of homes destroyed and much of the areas' infrastructure wiped out.

Read more on BBC

To replace this with a polished composite is to flatten the art form into blandness.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Almost the entire population has been displaced and much of its infrastructure flattened.

Read more on BBC

What remains is a flattened, inaccurate history that centers white heterosexual Christian men as the architects of American greatness, relegating others to mere bystanders or occupying passive, supporting roles.

Read more on Salon

Over and over again, this documentary makes the point that the screen flattens people’s full humanity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crush 
• raze 
• smash 
• straighten