flute

[ floot ]

/ flut /

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.

Nearby words

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

Examples from the Web for 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|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
Again, in Hazlitt's Proverbs, we find 'To go blow one's flute,' which is taken from an old proverb.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 5 (of 7) -- Notes to the Canterbury Tales|Geoffrey Chaucer
We have now three instruments; Boehm flageolet, flute, and Bb clarinet; and we expect in a few days our piano.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
An instant later Merry sprang down the steps, rushed forward and seized the flute player.
Frank Merriwell's Son|Burt L. Standish
When sound of flute and trumpet / arose at break of day, A signal for their parting, / full soon they took their way.
The Nibelungenlied|Unknown
Sometimes at twilight, or beneath the soft evening air of summer, we mingled in the dance, to the music of our flute and viol.
Olive Leaves|Lydia Howard Sigourney

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 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

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.

flute

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

Culture definitions for flute

flute

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

flute

noun

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

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

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