flat tire

noun

1. a pneumatic tire that has lost all or most of its air through leakage, puncture, or the like.
2. Older Slang. a dull or socially inept person.

Word History and Origins

Origin of flat tire¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

In Danville, Ky., we once bought rain boots while waiting for a flat tire to be fixed.

From Los Angeles Times

That fire started on National Park Service land after a driver’s trailer had a flat tire, causing a rim to scrape the road and shoot sparks into tinder-dry brush.

From Los Angeles Times

Once, he said, King saw that he was changing a flat tire on his car and offered to lend him his jack.

From Los Angeles Times

He’s disarmingly earnest, the kind of guy who’d offer to help you fix a flat tire in a snowstorm.

From Salon

"Once you take a piece away, the tissue decompresses like a flat tire," Purmessur Walter said.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• pain in the neck
• wimp