Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   Flake

   /flāk/

   

   noun

   • 1. a small, flat, thin piece of something, typically one that has broken away or been peeled off from a larger piece: "paint peeling off the walls in unsightly flakes"
   • ▪ a snowflake: "the snow was coming down in thick flakes"
   • ▪ a piece of hard stone chipped off for use as a tool by prehistoric humans: "flake tools"
   • ▪ thin pieces of crushed, dried food or bait for fish.
   • 2. an unreliable, eccentric, or unconventional person: informal "I told my husband she was a flake and she'd never show up"

   verb

   • 1. come or fall away from a surface in thin pieces: "the paint had been flaking off for years"
   • ▪ lose small fragments from the surface: "my nails have started to flake at the ends"
   • 2. break or divide (food) into thin pieces: "flake the fish"
   • ▪ (of food, especially when well cooked) come apart in thin pieces: "cook until the fish flakes easily"
   • 3. fail to keep an appointment or fulfill a commitment, especially with little or no advance notice: informal North American "a real friend won't ever flake on you"

   Word Origin Middle English: the immediate source is unknown, the senses perhaps deriving from different words; probably of Germanic origin and related to flag2 and flaw1.

   Scrabble Points: 12

   • F

     4

   • L

     1

   • A

     1

   • K

     5

   • E

     1

   Powered by Oxford Languages

   More Definitions, Word Origin & ScrabbleShow less