flatten

American  

[flat-n] / ˈflæt 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

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verb (used without object)

1. to become flat.

verb phrase

1. flatten out to fly into a horizontal position, as after a dive.

2. flatten in flat.

flatten British  

/ 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. Usual US word: flat.  (tr) music to lower the pitch of (a note) by one chromatic semitone

4. to manoeuvre an aircraft into horizontal flight, esp after a dive

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Other Word Forms

• flattener noun
• overflatten verb (used with object)
• unflattened adjective

Etymology

Origin of flatten

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

Example Sentences

The dough he had been poorly flattening to that point tore at a thin spot, splitting in half before it fell between the grates of the stovetop—straight onto the open flame.

From Literature

I flatten myself against the wall of the shed and try not to breathe.

From Literature

He steadied himself on the walls on either side, huffing and puffing and quite worried he was going to blow the house down, when, at last, the stairs flattened into a wide room.

From Literature

America’s shale industry was starting to become an afterthought—production had flattened and was expected to decline.

From Barron's

For days she has been waiting for rescue workers to dig through the flattened remains of what was once her daughter's flat in Resalat, a residential district in eastern Tehran.

From BBC

Related Words

• crush
• raze
• smash
• straighten