flake

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /fleɪk/ UK /fleɪk/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like fleck /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Meanings

1

noun
a small thin fragment; an unreliable person; to peel off

A flake of paint drifted down from the ceiling.
2

verb
to come away from a surface in small thin pieces

The old paint began to flake in the sun.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with flake

flake off Phrasal verb C2+

to come away from a surface in small thin pieces

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small thin fragment; an... chip scale fragment sliver wafer peel scab

Word family

Derived forms flakyflakerflakingflaked

Related forms flakilyflakiness

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

flake off
come away from a surface in small thin pieces

Verb + adverb

Etymology

Of Germanic origin, probably from Old Norse flak ('flat piece') or a related Scandinavian form, akin to Old English flacor. The slang sense 'unreliable person' is 20th-century American.

flak Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# flake

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /fleɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /fleɪk/

## Meanings
1. a small thin fragment; an unreliable person; to peel off
2. to come away from a surface in small thin pieces

## Examples
- A flake of paint drifted down from the ceiling.
- The old paint began to flake in the sun.

## Synonyms
- chip
- scale
- fragment
- sliver
- wafer
- peel
- scab

## Derived Forms
- flaky
- flaker
- flaking
- flaked

## Related Forms
- flakily
- flakiness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: flak

## Etymology
Of Germanic origin, probably from Old Norse flak ('flat piece') or a related Scandinavian form, akin to Old English flacor. The slang sense 'unreliable person' is 20th-century American.

## AI Etymology
Flake is of Germanic origin, probably from Old Norse flak ('flat piece') or a related Scandinavian form, akin to Old English flacor. The slang sense 'unreliable person' is 20th-century American. In present-day use, it means a small thin fragment; an unreliable person; to peel off. Derived formations include flaky, flaker, flaking, and flaked. Related vocabulary includes flakily and flakiness.

## Topics
- People & Society

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