flute
Pronunciation: (flt), [key]
— n., v., flut•ed, flut•ing.
—n.
- a musical wind instrument consisting of a tube with a series of fingerholes or keys, in which the wind is directed against a sharp edge, either directly, as in the modern transverse flute, or through a flue, as in the recorder.
- an organ stop with wide flue pipes, having a flutelike tone.
- a channel, groove, or furrow, as on the shaft of a column. See diag. under
- any groove or furrow, as in a ruffle of cloth or on a piecrust.
- one of the helical grooves of a twist drill.
- a slender, footed wineglass of the 17th century, having a tall, conical bowl.
- a similar stemmed glass, used esp. for champagne.
—v.i.
- to produce flutelike sounds.
- to play on a flute.
- (of a metal strip or sheet) to kink or break in bending.
—v.t.
- to utter in flutelike tones.
- to form longitudinal flutes or furrows in: to flute a piecrust.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.