[fleɪk], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a small, flat, very thin piece of something, typically one which has broken away or been peeled off from a larger piece
(e.g: he licked the flakes of croissant off his finger)

- an unreliable, eccentric, or unconventional person
(e.g: I told my husband she was a flake and she'd never show up)


Phrases:

Origin:
Middle English: the immediate source is unknown, the senses perhaps deriving from different words; probably of Germanic origin and related to flag and flaw. In flake out the verb is a variant of obsolete flack and the verb flag.

[fleɪk], (Verb)

Definitions:
- come or fall away from a surface in flakes
(e.g: the paint had been flaking off for years)

- separate (food) into flakes or thin pieces
(e.g: flake the fish)

- fail to keep an appointment or fulfil a commitment, especially with little or no advance notice
(e.g: a real friend won't ever flake on you)


Phrases:

Origin:
Middle English: the immediate source is unknown, the senses perhaps deriving from different words; probably of Germanic origin and related to flag and flaw. In flake out the verb is a variant of obsolete flack and the verb flag.

[fleɪk], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a rack or shelf for storing or drying food such as fish


Phrases:

Origin:
Middle English (denoting a wicker hurdle): perhaps of Scandinavian origin and related to Old Norse flaki, fleki ‘wicker shield’ and Danish flage ‘hurdle’

[fleɪk], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a single turn of a coiled rope or hawser


Phrases:

Origin:
early 17th century (as a noun): of unknown origin; compare with German Flechte in the same sense

[fleɪk], (Verb)

Definitions:
- lay (a rope) in loose coils in order to prevent it tangling
(e.g: a cable had to be flaked out)


Phrases:

Origin:
early 17th century (as a noun): of unknown origin; compare with German Flechte in the same sense