flute

[ floot ]

/ flut /

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See synonyms for: flute / fluted / fluting 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.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM flute

flutelike, adjective

Words nearby flute

flush right, flushwork, fluster, flustered, flustrated, flute, fluted, fluter, flutey, fluting, flutist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use flute in a sentence

Police picked up the flute from the pawnshop on Wednesday, Rabin said.
‘FLUTE EMERGENCY’: A musician forgot his $22,000 instrument on a Chicago train. A homeless man found it.|Andrea Salcedo|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
Retrieving the flute had little to do with its monetary worth, he said.
‘FLUTE EMERGENCY’: A musician forgot his $22,000 instrument on a Chicago train. A homeless man found it.|Andrea Salcedo|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
Meanwhile, Gabe Coconate, the owner of West Town Jewelry & Loan, told the Chicago Sun-Times he had already called police on Monday after his wife recognized the flute on a news report.
‘FLUTE EMERGENCY’: A musician forgot his $22,000 instrument on a Chicago train. A homeless man found it.|Andrea Salcedo|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
The flute is my livelihood and I’m trying every possible thing I can do to get it back.
‘FLUTE EMERGENCY’: A musician forgot his $22,000 instrument on a Chicago train. A homeless man found it.|Andrea Salcedo|February 5, 2021|Washington Post

A six-pack of 12-ounce cans works out to the equivalent of nine champagne flutes, which is great for a group.
The Best Canned Cocktails Available Now|AC Shilton|July 17, 2020|Outside Online
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
The flute and the psaltery make a sweet melody, but a pleasant tongue is above them both.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
The flute, a component part of the organ, is one of the most ancient of musical instruments.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
By blowing across this ring a fair but somewhat feeble Flute tone is produced.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
The most admirable instruments of this characteristic have been variously compared to a flute or to the female voice.
Violins and Violin Makers|Joseph Pearce
We have worked this out for all classes of tone—string, flute and diapason—and the law holds good in every instance.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller

British Dictionary definitions for flute

flute

/ (fluːt) /

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 forms of flute

flutelike, 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

Cultural definitions for flute

flute

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

flute

Origin of flute

OTHER WORDS FROM flute

Words nearby flute

Words related to flute

How to use flute in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for flute

Derived forms of flute

Word Origin for flute

Cultural definitions for flute