flattenflat‧ten /ˈflætn/ ●○○ verb 
Verb Table Examples
Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. The land flattened out as we neared the coast.2[transitive] to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc SYN level: Hundreds of homes were flattened by the tornado.► see thesaurus at destroy3flatten yourself against something to press your body against something: I flattened myself against the wall.4[transitive] informal to defeat someone completely and easily in a game, argument etc: We flattened them 6–0.5[transitive] informal to hit someone very hard
Verb TableVERB TABLE
flatten
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | flatten |
| he, she, it | flattens | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | flattened |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have flattened |
| he, she, it | has flattened | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had flattened |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will flatten |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have flattened |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am flattening |
| he, she, it | is flattening | |
| you, we, they | are flattening | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was flattening |
| you, we, they | were flattening | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been flattening |
| he, she, it | has been flattening | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been flattening |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be flattening |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been flattening |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Flatten the cardboard boxes and stack them in the corner.
- He fell against me so heavily I thought he was going to flatten me.
- Her little car was completely flattened in the accident.
- More than 10,000 houses were flattened by the quake.
- Place the balls of cookie dough on a baking sheet, and flatten each one with your hand.
- Roll the dough into a ball and then flatten it with a rolling pin.
- She said that the crash-helmet would flatten her hair-do.
- Shut up or I'll flatten you!
- The hills flatten out near the coast.
- The Packers flattened the Saints 42-6.
- The wind and rain had flattened the crops.
- I am now about as tall as a flattened cricket.
- Lara more or less flattens it.
- Nearly every building within twenty-five kilometers of ground zero is flattened.
- Sleep had flattened one side of her Afro and a curl had broken free above her forehead.
THESAURUS► destroy
Collocations to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired: · The earthquake almost completely destroyed the city.· The twin towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack.
► devastate to damage a large area very badly and destroy many things in it: · Allied bombings in 1943 devastated the city.· The country’s economy has been devastated by years of fighting.
► demolish to completely destroy a building, either deliberately or by accident: · The original 15th century house was demolished in Victorian times.· The plane crashed into a suburb of Paris, demolishing several buildings.
► flatten to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc, so that nothing is left standing: · The town centre was flattened by a 500 lb bomb.
► wreck to deliberately damage something very badly, especially a room or building: · The toilets had been wrecked by vandals.· They just wrecked the place.
► trash informal to deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house etc: · Apparently, he trashed his hotel room while on drugs.
► obliterate formal to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains: · The nuclear blast obliterated most of Hiroshima.
► reduce something to ruins/rubble/ashes to destroy a building or town completely: · The town was reduced to rubble in the First World War.
► ruin to spoil something completely, so that it cannot be used or enjoyed: · Fungus may ruin the crop.· The new houses will ruin the view.
Longman Language Activatorto make something flat► flatten to make something flat, especially something that is not usually flat: · The wind and rain had flattened the crops.· Roll the dough into a ball and then flatten it with a rolling pin.
► level to make a piece of land flat and stop it sloping in any direction: · It is important to level the land before planting.level something off/out: · The site of the explosion has now been levelled out and is going to be made into a memorial garden.
► roll/press/squash etc something flat to make something flat by rolling it, pressing it etc: · Roll the pastry flat and cut out two 8-inch circles.· Please squash all aluminum cans flat before placing them in the bin.
► smooth to make the surface of something such as paper or cloth completely flat and smooth: · She removed her cap and smoothed her lush black hair.smooth something down/out: · Across the table, Tanya smoothed down her skirt and looked at her watch.· Every morning she smoothes the bedclothes out and dusts the room.
when a road, piece of land etc becomes flat► flatten/flatten out · The road widens and flattens as it nears the sea.· Towards the top of the hill the ground flattens out and the climb should be easier.
► level off/out to become flat and level, especially after sloping: · Where the path levels out you will find an old cottage.· After climbing steeply through woodland the lane levelled off.
to press something so that it becomes flatter or smaller► press · We pressed the flowers between the pages of a book.press something into something (=press something to make it a different shape) · The cookie dough is then pressed into small shapes and baked in a hot oven.
► flatten to press something into a flat shape: · Place the balls of cookie dough on a baking sheet, and flatten each one with your hand.· She said that the crash-helmet would flatten her hair-do.
► roll also roll out to make something flat using a tool or machine shaped like a tube: · Roll the pastry as thin as you can.roll out something/roll something out: · Roll the dough out to a thickness of four centimetres.
► compress to press something together, so that it takes up less space - used especially in technical contexts: · Behind the factory is a machine that compresses old cars into blocks of scrap metal.
to press something so hard that it breaks, folds, or becomes flat► squash to damage something, especially something soft, by pressing it and making it flat: · Someone sat on my hat and squashed it.· He wouldn't even squash a fly, let alone murder someone.squash something flat: · He squashed the can flat between his hands.
► crush to press something so hard that it gets damaged or broken into pieces: · His leg was crushed in the accident.· Coconuts have to be crushed in order to extract their oil.· He closed his fist over the flower, crushing it into a pulp.
► flatten to squash something until it is completely flat: · He fell against me so heavily I thought he was going to flatten me.· Her little car was completely flattened in the accident.
► mash to press fruit or cooked vegetables with a fork or similar tool, until they are soft and smooth: · Mash the bananas and add them to the mixture.mash something up/mash up something: · Boil the potatoes and then mash them up.
► grind to break something such as coffee beans or corn into powder, using a machine or special tool: · Grind some black pepper over the salad.grind something into something: · These huge stones were once used for grinding wheat into flour.
► pound to press or hit something repeatedly, especially using a tool, so that it breaks into very small pieces or becomes soft or flat: · He pounded some garlic and ginger and put it in the pan.pound something flat: · Here the loose earth had been pounded flat by thousands of feet.
► press to crush a fruit or vegetable using special equipment to remove the juice, oil etc: · Friends come to help us gather the crop and press the grapes.· Enough olives had been gathered and pressed to produce 1000 litres of cooking oil.
► screw up to press a piece of paper or cloth into the shape of a ball: screw up something: · Sally screwed up the letter she was writing and threw it into the wastebasket.screw something/it up: · He screwed his handkerchief up into a ball and put it in his pocket.
► crumple/crumple up to press a piece of paper or cloth so that it becomes smaller or bent: · He crumpled the cheque and threw it across the room.· Crumple up the bedclothes so it looks as though you slept there.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► out
Phrases· This time around, the computerisation curve has flattened out, so the electronics industry has been hit as hard as any.· But then the show flattened out.· Why did one time and three space dimensions flatten out, while the other dimensions remain tightly curled.· Then it flattens out and turns brown.· My hands needed to stay still, with my wrists twisting up and down after each stroke to flatten out the oars.· Underneath, I had flattened out a nest among the tall grass that stretched along the bank.· He fell, landing heavily on his butt, then flattening out on to his back.· Approach closer, and the wall flattens out -- a little.
► slightly· Turn dough a few times and form into ball. Flatten slightly into disk and wrap in plastic wrap.· The ventral ones are slightly flattened and very rugose; the dorsal ones appear smooth or finely rugose.· If anything, sharks are already slightly flattened from back to belly.· Place well apart on baking sheets and flatten slightly.· These larger spines are slightly flattened and on proximal joints may have blunt tips.· Ventral arm spins may be slightly flattened and in some the arm spine may be curved.· Roll another ball of icing, flatten slightly, cut in half and position for the feet.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► flatten yourself against something
Word family- I flattened myself against the wall.
- As the train began slowing down for North Chittendon, I flattened myself against the window.
- Brennan and Douglas flattened themselves against the front of the trench as it went over.
- I flattened myself against the wall.
- Quickly they moved out of sight, flattening themselves against the corridor walls to either side of the short passage.
- She'd flattened herself against the outside wall like some one in a spy movie.
- She flattened herself against the end terrace wall and looked back.
WORD FAMILYnounflatflatnessadverbflatflatlyadjectiveflatverbflatten
1 (also flatten out) [intransitive, transitive] to make something flat or flatter, or to become flat or flatter: Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. The land flattened out as we neared the coast.2[transitive] to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc SYN level: Hundreds of homes were flattened by the tornado.► see thesaurus at destroy3flatten yourself against something to press your body against something: I flattened myself against the wall.4[transitive] informal to defeat someone completely and easily in a game, argument etc: We flattened them 6–0.5[transitive] informal to hit someone very hard