Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A quick, intense burst, especially of wind, rain, or snow.
  • noun An imperfection, often concealed, that impairs soundness: synonym: blemish.
  • noun A defect or shortcoming in something intangible.
  • transitive verb To cause a flaw in; make defective.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To cause a flaw or defect in; break; crack; mar.
  • To violate; invalidate.
  • An obsolete or dialectal variant of flay.
  • noun A flake; a fragment; a shiver.
  • noun A thin cake, as of ice.
  • noun A breach; a crack; a defect of continuity or cohesion; a weak spot or place.
  • noun Any defect or imperfection; anything which impairs quality or character; a fault: as, a flaw in a will, a deed, or a statute.
  • noun In weaving, a bore, tangle, or skip.
  • noun A disease in which the skin recedes from the nails.
  • noun A sudden gust of wind; a sudden and violent wind-storm.
  • noun A sudden burst of noise and disorder; a tumult; an uproar.
  • noun A sudden commotion of mind.
  • noun Synonyms Gust, etc. See wind, n.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To crack; to make flaws in.
  • transitive verb obsolete To break; to violate; to make of no effect.
  • noun A crack or breach; a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion.
  • noun A defect; a fault
  • noun obsolete A sudden burst of noise and disorder; a tumult; uproar; a quarrel.
  • noun A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration.
  • noun A storm of short duration.
  • noun A sudden burst of noise and disorder; a tumult; uproar; a quarrel.
  • noun A crack or breach, a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion.
  • noun A defect, fault, or imperfection, especially one that is hidden.
  • noun A defect or error in a contract or other document which may make the document invalid.
  • verb transitive To add a flaw to, to make imperfect or defective.
  • verb intransitive To become imperfect or defective.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an imperfection in an object or machine
  • noun an imperfection in a plan or theory or legal document that causes it to fail or that reduces its effectiveness
  • noun defect or weakness in a person's character
  • verb add a flaw or blemish to; make imperfect or defective

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish flaga, gust of wind.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English flaue, splinter, perhaps from Old Norse flaga, slab of stone; see plāk- in Indo-European roots.]

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