flat-out

1 of 2

adjective

1
: being or going at maximum effort or speed
2
: out-and-out, downright
it was a flat-out lie

flat out

2 of 2

adverb

1
: in a blunt and direct manner : openly
called flat out for revolutionNat'l Review
2
: at top speed or peak performance
the car does 180 m.p.h. flat out
3
usually flat-out : absolutely, downright
usually used as an intensive
is just flat-out confusing

Examples of flat-out in a Sentence

Adjective regarded their son-in-law as a flat-out loser and let him know it Adverb I told him flat out that I have no intention of marrying him. We asked for more time but they refused us flat out. The car does 180 mph flat out.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
Comments There was a lot of flat-out amazing stuff on Survivor 47’'s penultimate episode. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024 While not as flat-out aggressive as Nissan’s Z, the Prelude was a more-sophisticated sports coupe, available in this period with then-novel features like torque-vectoring steering. Jim Gorzelany, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Adverb
Following reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled Damascus in the face of an insurgent offensive on the capital, which the Syrian government has flat out denied, Trump offered his insight on the crisis. Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024 But several Democrats cautioned Biden against doing so or flat out rejected the idea. Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 7 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for flat-out 

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1932, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of flat-out was in 1906

Dictionary Entries Near flat-out

Cite this Entry

“Flat-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flat-out. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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