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. Aeronautics. to fly into a horizontal position, as after a dive.
2. Nautical. flat ¹( def 61 ).

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. tr music to lower the pitch of (a note) by one chromatic semitone Usual US wordflat
4. intrfoll byout to manoeuvre an aircraft into horizontal flight, esp after a dive

Derived Forms

• ˈflattener, noun

Other Words From

• flatten·er noun
• over·flatten verb (used with object)
• un·flattened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of flatten¹

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

Example Sentences

As Israeli airstrikes flatten swaths of Lebanon, groups warn the attacks mirror some of the patterns of destruction and displacement seen in Gaza.

From Los Angeles Times

As Israeli airstrikes flatten swaths of Lebanon, groups warn the attacks mirror some of the patterns of destruction and displacement seen in Gaza.

From Los Angeles Times

As Israeli airstrikes flatten swaths of Lebanon, groups warn the attacks mirror some of the patterns of destruction and displacement seen in Gaza.

From Los Angeles Times

“We always want to flatten and simplify what are really complex challenges. That’s why I’m in the classroom — because I don’t want my students to fall into some of those same traps of over-simplification.”

From Los Angeles Times

What’s not good or healthy is for Kounalakis to buy her way into the governor’s office, the way she used an outsized wallet to flatten opponents and win the lieutenant governorship in 2018.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crush
• raze
• smash
• straighten