[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/flatten/)

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# flatten

verb (flatten, flattens, flattened, flattening)

«flatten» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To make something flat or flatter by pressing or rolling it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#m1)
2. To knock down or destroy something completely: «The storm flattened the trees». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#m2)
3. To become flat: «The hills flatten out near the sea». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#m3)

### In the lessons

In cooking and crafts you flatten dough or clay with a rolling pin. In science and geography: wind or floods flatten crops and buildings; land flattens out into plains. In maths graphs: a line «flattens out» when it stops rising. Phrases: «flatten out», «flatten the dough», «flatten a box».

### Examples

- Flatten the dough with a rolling pin. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#x1)
- We flattened the cardboard boxes for recycling. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#x2)
- The storm flattened the farmer's wheat. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#x3)
- The road flattens out after the big hill. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#x4)
- She flattened the crumpled paper with her hand. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#x5)
- Squash and flatten the plasticine into a pancake. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#x6)
- The line on the graph flattens out after day five. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#x7)
- Her head seemed to flatten, and her eyes to look oddly round the corners; her legs and her arms were stuck to her sides, and she gasped wildly for breath. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/#x8)

### Note

Double t + -en: flatten, flattened. Comes from «flat» + «-en» (like «short → shorten»). Do not confuse with «flatter» (to praise too much) or «flatter» (more flat).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «flatten» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flatten/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«flatten» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/flatten.html) on Mova free.