flag
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Emblem usually made up of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
flagIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈflæɡ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design
A piece of cloth, often decorated with an emblem, used as a visual signal or symbol.
The design that could be placed on a flag, typically a rectangular graphic that is used to represent an entity (like a country, organisation or group of people) or an idea.
nautical
A flag flown by a ship to show the presence on board of the admiral; the admiral himself, or his flagship.
The use of a flag, especially to indicate the start of a race or other event.
A slab of stone; a flagstone, a flat piece of stone used for paving.
verb
often with down
To signal to, especially to stop a passing vehicle etc.
often with up
To note, mark or point out for attention.
To decoy (game) by waving a flag, handkerchief, etc. to arouse the animal's curiosity.
intransitive
To weaken, become feeble.
Droop, sink, or settle from or as if from pressure or loss of tautness
To let droop; to suffer to fall, or let fall, into feebleness.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design
Used this way, flag is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- ensign , a specialist term, precise but narrower
- signal flag , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use flag
- “Flag this file so that I can recognize it immediately.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Flagstones collectively.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
The chief one of a related group.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Smut affecting leaves and stems of cereals and other grasses.
The rank of a flag officer.
A senior naval officer above the rank of captain.
Flag consisting of a piece of white cloth that is hoisted to signal surrender or to ask for a truce.
Signal to stop.
Commemorating the adoption of the United States flag in 1777.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
noun
Sense: emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.