1
: in a blunt and direct manner : openly
called flat out for revolution—
Nat'l Review
Nat'l Review2
: 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
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 23 May 2025
The Panthers flat-out dominated the Hurricanes on Thursday, cruising to a 5-0 win at the Lenovo Center to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series with a spot in a third consecutive Stanley Cup Final at stake.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 23 May 2025
Luke Smith, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
Amtrak is just flat out lying in claiming otherwise and under Joe Biden Amtrak always got its way, commuter services and passengers be damned.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flat-out
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
And while no one’s dish is a flat-out disaster, the problems that the judges point out are mostly about how the chefs mistreated their meats or masked the Indigenous ingredients.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 23 May 2025
The Panthers flat-out dominated the Hurricanes on Thursday, cruising to a 5-0 win at the Lenovo Center to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series with a spot in a third consecutive Stanley Cup Final at stake.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 23 May 2025
Adverb
Norris appeared to pick up his pace and the top three appeared to be driving flat out.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
Amtrak is just flat out lying in claiming otherwise and under Joe Biden Amtrak always got its way, commuter services and passengers be damned.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flat-out
Cite this Entry
“Flat-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flat-out. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share