Meaning & use
flats
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“flats” is a form of “flat”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounpluralBritish
Apartments, meaning sets of rooms for living in that are part of a larger building.
Grammar: Plural of flat: a block of flats.
Patterns
- flats in something
- a block of flats
They rent one of the flats above the bakery.
The city built hundreds of new flats near the station.
Most of the flats in this building have a balcony.
nounplural
Shoes with no raised heel, or with a very low one.
Grammar: Plural: a pair of flats.
Patterns
- a pair of flats
She wore flats instead of heels for the long walk.
Black leather flats go with almost any outfit.
I keep a spare pair of flats in my bag.
nounusually pluralspecialist
Areas of low, level land, such as the wide muddy ground beside a river or the sea.
Grammar: Often appears in names: the salt flats.
Patterns
- flats near something
Wading birds feed on the mud flats at low tide.
The salt flats stretch for miles under the sun.
Farmers grow rice on the river flats.
nounpluralmusic
In music, notes lowered by a semitone, or the signs written to show this.
Grammar: Plural of flat: the key has three flats.
Patterns
- key with flats
The key of B-flat major has two flats.
Look at the number of flats in the key signature.
She played the sharps and flats carefully.
Word forms
| singular | flat |
|---|
Common combinations
- block of flats
- They live in a block of flats near the park.
- ballet flats
- Ballet flats are comfortable for city walking.
- salt flats
- The salt flats are popular with photographers.
- rent flats
- Many students rent flats near the campus.
- sharps and flats
- The piece uses many sharps and flats.
Synonyms and how they differ
- apartments
- Apartments is the American word for the first sense and is understood in Britain too.
- condos
- Condos are apartments that are owned by residents, so they are not the same as rented flats.
- plains
- Plains are large areas of flat land, whereas flats can be smaller and often wet or muddy.
- pumps
- In British English, pumps can mean flat shoes, but in American English pumps means high heels.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: flats or flats vs. floats?
flats vs flats vs. floats
Floats are things that stay on top of water or small vehicles in parades, and are not related to flats.
Practice
In British English, which meaning does flats most commonly have?
Choose one answer.
In Britain, flats most commonly means apartments in a building. The other options are not meanings of the word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flats”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.