flute

[floot]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flute ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a musical wind instrument consisting of a tube with a series of fingerholes or keys, in which the wind is directed against a sharp edge, either directly, as in the modern transverse flute, or through a flue, as in the recorder.

an organ stop with wide flue pipes, having a flutelike tone.

Architecture, Furniture. a channel, groove, or furrow, as on the shaft of a column.

any groove or furrow, as in a ruffle of cloth or on a piecrust.

one of the helical grooves of a twist drill.

a slender, footed wineglass of the 17th century, having a tall, conical bowl.

a similar stemmed glass, used especially for champagne.

verb (used without object), flut·ed, flut·ing.

to produce flutelike sounds.

to play on a flute.

(of a metal strip or sheet) to kink or break in bending.

verb (used with object), flut·ed, flut·ing.

to utter in flutelike tones.

to form longitudinal flutes or furrows in: to flute a piecrust.

Origin of flute

1350–1400; Middle English floute < Middle French flaüte, flahute, fleüte < Old Provençal flaüt (perhaps alteration of flaujol, flauja) < Vulgar Latin *flabeolum. See flageolet, lute¹

Related formsflute·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for flute

trench, blare, hiss, gather, ruffle, tuck, crease, plait, crimp, flounce, flute, kilt, corrugation, scratch, hollow, slit, ditch, depression, canal, gouge

Examples from the Web for flute

Contemporary Examples of flute

If you drink from a flute, do so from a tulip-shape one to concentrate the notes, Simonetti-Bryan says.
Champagne: You’re Drinking It All Wrong
Kayleigh Kulp
December 20, 2014
By the time of the recording session, Brian had become quite agile with the flute and suggested adding it to the song.
‘The Prince of Chocolate City’: When Gil Scott-Heron Became A Music Icon
Marcus Baram
November 15, 2014
Dodge was on his way to study the flute in Paris, but he decided to buy the bike, anyway.
Pryor Dodge's Two-Wheeled Obsession Is Now a Museum of Bike History
Anthony Haden-Guest
September 15, 2014
Despite the sheer hilarity of the music itself, Detweiler claims that the flute drops are not an intentional joke.
The Mystery of FluteDrop: D.J. Detweiler Pairs Miley Cyrus With Woodwinds
Gideon Resnick
March 5, 2014
At age 5, Desplat began to play the piano; his attention eventually turned to flute.
Meet Alexandre Desplat, Hollywood’s Master Composer
Andrew Romano
February 11, 2014

Historical Examples of flute

Her lover played upon his flute, while she leaned against a tree and listened.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
As soon as he was gone, I sent for Joe Kelly to play on the flute to me.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
You must give us some music, my good Belinda, and make him accompany you with his flute.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
The ancient was sitting in the shade of the mulberry trees blowing the flute.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
It had eight stops, one imitating the lute and one the flute.
How the Piano Came to Be
Ellye Howell Glover

British Dictionary definitions for flute

flute

noun

a wind instrument consisting of an open cylindrical tube of wood or metal having holes in the side stopped either by the fingers or by pads controlled by keys. The breath is directed across a mouth hole cut in the side, causing the air in the tube to vibrate. Range: about three octaves upwards from middle C

any pipe blown directly on the principle of a flue pipe, either by means of a mouth hole or through a fipple

architect a rounded shallow concave groove on the shaft of a column, pilaster, etc

a groove or furrow in cloth, etc

a tall narrow wineglass

anything shaped like a flute

verb

to produce or utter (sounds) in the manner or tone of a flute

(tr) to make grooves or furrows in

Derived Formsflutelike, adjectivefluty, adjective

Word Origin for flute

C14: from Old French flahute, via Old Provençal, from Vulgar Latin flabeolum (unattested); perhaps also influenced by Old Provençal laut lute; see flageolet

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

Word Origin and History for flute

early 14c., from Old French flaute (12c.), from Old Provençal flaut, of uncertain origin, perhaps imitative or from Latin flare "to blow;" perhaps influenced by Provençal laut "lute." The other Germanic words (cf. German flöte) are likewise borrowings from French.

Ancient flutes were blown through a mouthpiece, like a recorder; the modern transverse or German flute developed 18c. The older style then sometimes were called flûte-a-bec (French, literally "flute with a beak"). The modern design and key system of the concert flute were perfected 1834 by Theobald Boehm. The architectural sense of "furrow in a pillar" (1650s) is from fancied resemblance to the inside of a flute split down the middle. Meaning "tall, slender wine glass" is from 1640s.

late 14c., "to play upon the flute," from flute (n.). Meaning "to make (architectural) flutes" is from 1570s. Related: Fluted; fluting.

flute in Culture

flute

A high-pitched woodwind, held horizontally by the player and played by blowing across a hole.