1
general::
noun set of rooms ADJ. big, spacious | modest | cramped, little, poky, small, tiny | comfortable, cosy | beautiful, nice | luxury, posh | shabby | modern | self-contained | purpose-built | furnished, unfurnished | one-room, studio | one-bedroomed, two-room, etc. | bachelor, granny Even the prices of small bachelor flats are unbelievable. They converted two rooms of their house into a granny flat for Tony's elderly mother. | attic, basement, bottom, downstairs, first-floor, ground-floor, penthouse, top, top-floor, upstairs the people who lived in the downstairs flat | high-rise a block of high-rise flats | empty, unoccupied, vacant | privately-owned | rented | council | holiday | next They live in the next flat. QUANT. block The tall blocks of flats dominated the skyline. VERB + FLAT have, own They have a flat in Paris and a house in Normandy. | rent, take The musician took a flat in a fashionable area of London. | let, sublet The landlady found they had been illegally subletting the flat. | buy | sell | find (sb), look for Do you think that the council could find me another flat? | get (sb) We got her a flat in the same block as ours. | live in, occupy, stay in Our flat is one of the two occupied in the block. | share | move into, move (out) from, move out (of) | build | decorate, refurbish a contract to refurbish 18 council flats | lock (up) | let sb/yourself into She let herself into the flat with the spare key. | leave, let sb/yourself out (of) | break (into) | evict sb from FLAT + VERB be located The flat is located in a modern development. | face sth, overlook sth a luxury block of flats overlooking the marina PREP. at a/the ~ I'll meet you back at your flat. | in a/the ~ She lives in the top flat. PHRASES convert/divide/make/turn sth into flats The house has now been converted into flats. land ADJ. coastal | tidal | mud (also mudflat), sand, salt mud and sand flats rich in animal life PREP. on the ~ These birds live on the coastal flats. musical note ADJ. A, B, etc. VERB + FLAT have The key of E flat major has three flats. | play PREP. in … ~ Mendelssohn's Quintet in B flat, adj. VERBS be, look | become | lie, stay I can't get this material to lie flat. She lay flat on the ground. | fold sth, get sth, make sth, press sth Shall I fold the paper flat or roll it up? ADV. very | absolutely, completely, quite The sea was almost completely flat. | almost | fairly, quite, rather
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
4
general::
flat
on one level, without any holes or raised areas, and not sloping or curving:
• a flat roof • a flat screen • Before you lay the tiles, make sure that the ground is completely flat.
level
not sloping in any direction, so that every part is at the same height:
• Is the top of this picture level? • After four hours coming down the mountain, I was glad to be back on level ground.
smooth
without any holes or raised areas – used especially when saying how something feels when you touch it:
• her lovely smooth skin • I ran my hand across the animal’s smooth fur.
even
without any holes or raised areas:
• Apply the paint to an even surface. • Be careful – the path is not very even here.
horizontal
going straight across and not sloping:
• a horizontal line • Raise both arms to a horizontal position.
Longman-Thesaurus