flute: Meaning and Definition of

flute

Pronunciation: (flt), [key]
— n., v., flut•ed, flut•ing.
—n.
  1. 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.
  2. an organ stop with wide flue pipes, having a flutelike tone.
  3. a channel, groove, or furrow, as on the shaft of a column. See diag. under
  4. any groove or furrow, as in a ruffle of cloth or on a piecrust.
  5. one of the helical grooves of a twist drill.
  6. a slender, footed wineglass of the 17th century, having a tall, conical bowl.
  7. a similar stemmed glass, used esp. for champagne.
—v.i.
  1. to produce flutelike sounds.
  2. to play on a flute.
  3. (of a metal strip or sheet) to kink or break in bending.
—v.t.
  1. to utter in flutelike tones.
  2. to form longitudinal flutes or furrows in: to flute a piecrust.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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