Things That Are Flat

Welcome to our list of things that are flat!

Flat refers to a surface which is consistent and uniform, but can also refer to things that are boring or uninteresting. We’ve done our best to cover as many different items with as many different contexts as possible with this list, so we hope you find what you need!

Here’s a visual list of things that are flat:

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We hope that visual list of flat things was useful! Here’s a longer and more descriptive list of things that are flat:

• Paper: This is a thin material made from wood pulp used for drawing, writing, decorating and origami.
• Postcard: This is a thick, flat card with a decoration on one side which is used to send short messages to people.
• Stamps: These are small, rectangular pieces of sticky paper used to indicate that mail has been paid for.
• Tape: Tape is an adhesive used to hold things together.
• Envelope: These are flat paper rectangles used to store and send mail.
• Bookmark: Bookmarks are thin, flat objects used to mark a person’s place in their reading material.
• Tissue: These are thin, flat rectangles used to clean up or absorb small messes.
• Streamer: Streamers are long, wide crepe ribbons used for home decoration (usually only for parties or celebrations).
• Business Card: These are small cards with work contact details on them used for socially connecting business people.
• Flash Cards: Flash cards are thick, lined paper cards that are used as a study aid.
• Playing Cards: These can be made of paper or plastic, and are used for playing games like solitaire and poker.
• Stencil: This can refer to either a thin plastic sheet with parts carved out of it, or the artwork/lettering that is made using the stencil.
• Poster: A poster is a large-scale graphic, usually used in advertising.
• Tarot Card: Tarot cards are longer and narrower than normal playing cards, and are used to study one’s feelings and thoughts and how they may affect the future.
• Name Tag: These are small cards with names written on them, used at social and business events. They can be made of paper, card, or plastic.
• Price Tag: These are small cardboard tags left on products to marks prices and names.
• Map: Even though we usually navigate by GPS, paper maps still exist and express geography on a flat suface.
• Tickets: Tickets can be in digital or paper form. They provide entry to certain events.
• Gift Wrap: This is a thin, decorative paper used to wrap gifts. These days, large cloths can be used as a more eco-friendly, re-suable alternative.
• Recipe: Many recipes can be found online, but recipes were traditionally shared written or printed on paper.
• Label: These are small stickers used to give information about the object it’s adhered to.
• Photos: These are printed on photo paper, which is thicker than normal printing paper (80gsm) but still very flat.
• Bumper Sticker: These are generally wide, short stickers meant for sticking on one’s car. They generally show short, witty idioms, political leanings or brand affiliations.
• Confetti: Confetti is a bundle of small, thin pieces of coloured paper, meant to flutter decoratively through the air when thrown. Commonly used in celebrations.
• Ribbon: These are long, thin strips of fabric used as decorative ties.
• Flag: Flags are used to show identity and affiliation.
• Gift Card: These are generally small plastic or paper cards which hold information about pre-paid gifts.
• Credit Card: Credit cards are used to make purchases based on credit rather than monetary funds.
• Library Card: These are cards used to store information about books that a person has borrowed.
• Pressed Flowers: Flowers can be pressed by placing them between absorbent paper and a few heavy weights. This dries and preserves them and results in a dry, flat flower.
• Stickers: These are small pieces of paper that have adhesive on one side.
• CD: These are flat, thin discs that are used to play music.
• Money: Money is generally printed onto paper or paper-like material and is light and thin for portability.
• Pamphlet: Pamphlets are folded pieces of large paper used to convey sections of information.
• Sign: These are used to quickly convey a small amount of information, and are usually used in large public areas with a high amount of traffic.
• Certificate: These are used to show a stage of learning or proficiency.
• Napkin: Napkins are thicker than tissues, but have the same basic purpose (to absorb small spills).
• Band-Aid: These are small adhesive strips with a pad of gauze in the middle to protect scratches and small cuts or wounds.
• Rolled Oats: Usually eaten as a breakfast food, these are flat grains known for their high protein content.
• Chopping Board: A flat, thick, durable board used to protect tables while cutting food.
• Tie: A long strip of fabric intended to be tied in decorative knots around the neck, usually only while also wearing a suit.
• Camera Film: A thin, flexible plastic used for developing photographs.
• Greeting Card: These are folded-over pieces of card to show sentiment for special milestones, like retirement, graduating or birthdays.
• Floor: While floors may be tilted, sloped, or have stairs, they generally will still have a flat surface for safety and ease of use.
• Mirror: A flat, reflective surface that allows us to see our reflection.
• Floppy Disc: An old and now obsolete way of storing digital files and data.
• Phone: While phones were not always thin and flat, today’s phones generally consist of a large screen with the smallest amount of buttons possible.
• iPod: iPods have always been known for their flat, simple, minimalist designs.
• Weaving: These are knotted pieces of art, generally used as wall hangings.
• Ruler: Used for measuring small distances, usually between 30cm and one metre.
• Window: A transparent plate of glass used to let light into buildings.
• TV: TVs in the past have been more chunky and rounded, but TVs today are thin and so flat that they went through a period of being called “flatscreen TVs.”
• Tile: These are small plates of ceramic used to protect a surface in a decorative, practical way.
• Knife: These are blades intended to cut or separate objects.
• Scalpel Blade: This is an extremely thin and sharp version of a knife, generally used for delicate incisions.
• Tape Measure: A long, thin, flexible ribbon used to measure objects.
• Paper Bag: Thin pouches made of paper used to carry bought goods.
• Passport: Passports help identify us as we travel from country to country.
• Collage: A collage is a piece of art that is composed of layered pieces of found items, like magazine clippings, letters or coloured paper.
• Poker Chips: These are small round tokens used to represent money in a poker game.
• Whiteboard: These are large, glossy boards used in classrooms.
• Blackboard: These are used by teachers to demonstrate ideas to students.
• Calendar: These represent our year in printed pages of organised grids. We use these to plan our daily lives.
• Wallet: These are compartmental pouches used to store money and keep it safe.
• Carpet: Carpets are furry floor coverings that get dirty easily, but keep a room warm.
• Canvas: This is a thick, sturdy cloth used as a painting surface.
• Cloth: This is a generally soft and flexible material made of woven fibres.
• Fabric: This is another term for cloth, and is generally used interchangeably.
• Pavement: These are the pedestrian walks that line either side of a road.
• Zine: A very short, handmade and hand printed publication, usually of an extremely limited run.
• Magazine: A publication that advises on or is about a certain topic.
• MDF: This is short for medium-density fibreboard. It’s a wooden board that comes in varying sizes and thicknesses.
• Novella: Any book approximately 100 pages or shorter is considered a novella.
• Tablet: Tablets are thin, flat computers that look like a computer screen without the keyboard.
• Laptop: A laptop is a portable computer that is flat when folded.
• Painting: A painting is an art medium that generally results in flat, 2d work on canvas or paper.
• Drawing: This is a form of artistic expression where marks are made on canvas or paper.
• Desk: These are pieces of furniture that have a flat surface to store items, write and draw.
• Clothes: These are made to protect and decorate our bodies and are composed of generally flat pieces of cloth.
• Book: A book is made up of at least a hundred flat pages.
• Rug: This is a flat weave used to warm and decorate a room.
• Belt: These are long, wide ribbons of tough, durable materials used to hold pants up.
• Road: The surface that cars travel on. While they might be hilly or sloped, their surface is overall flat.
• Shoebox: A box used to store and protect shoes.
• Chiclet Keys: A keyboard where the keys are flat, square-shaped and with space between them for easy cleaning.
• Wall: The sides of a room that hold up the ceiling.
• Notebook: A slim book with lined paper, intended to be used for writing.
• Scale: A flat device that measures weight.
• Curtain: These are made of ideally heavy, thick cloth in order to shut out light and noise.
• Box: A sealable structure used to store objects to be transported or organised. Usually made of cardboard, plastic or metal.
• Pillowcase: Protective pillow covers, made of thin, soft fabric.
• Flatpack Furniture: This is disassembled furniture that’s been packed as densely and flat as possible for ease of transportation.
• Leaves: While leaves come in many shapes, sizes and textures, many have a generally flat shape.
• Chisel: A thin sharp tool used to gouge valleys and carve. Usually used in woodworking.
• Saw: A wide blade with large, serrated teeth. Most commonly used in woodworking.
• Spatula: A thin, flexible blade that is used to scoop and shape in cooking and baking.
• Fondant: A dense, firm icing that is used to decorate the tops of cakes. While fondant can hold its own shape and is therefore used for edible sculptures, it’s most commonly rolled out flat and used in sheets.
• Icing: A sweet confection made of butter and sugar. Most commonly used to decorate the flat tops of cakes.
• Rice Cakes: These are large, round crackers made of puffed rice pressed together in a cake. Commonly understood to be a health food.
• Crackers: These are thin, almost wafer-like biscuits made of mixed grains.
• File: A thin carboard folder for storing documents.
• Door: While doors can have panels and decorative carvings in and on them, their overall profile is flat.
• Plate: A flat surface for eating food, as opposed to a bowl.
• Platter: This is a very large plate used for serving more than one person.
• Tray: A large board with raised edges and handles for holding multiple items on a flat surface.
• Bed: An appropriately flat, soft surface to sleep on.
• Mattress: This is the thick, spongy surface that you place on top of a bed frame.
• Foil: This is very thin aluminium commonly used to keep food warm and protected.
• Baking Paper: This is waxed paper used to keep food fresh and protected from bacteria.
• Tracing Paper: This is translucent paper used to copy drawings and diagrams.
• Blotting Paper: A moderately thick paper used for blotting ink.
• Fruit Leather: This is a sweet, sugary snack made of pressed fruit pulp in the shape of a belt.
• Pop Tart: This is a flat, rectangular pastry filled with jam or icing.
• Sliced Bread: Slicing bread gives it a flat shape.
• Toast: Toast is only made with flat, sliced bread.
• Yoga Mat: These are thin panels of foam used to cushion a person’s joints from the floor when practising yoga.
• Sword: Mostly composed of thin, hammered pieces of metal.
• Rock: Many rocks and cliff faces are flat but can be worn smooth by wind and water.
• Pancake: These are thin cakes that are cooked in a frying pan. Usually enjoyed as a breakfast food.
• Crepe: Thin French pancakes that are eaten in both sweet and savoury styles.
• Tortilla: Round, flat bread used to make tacos and kebabs.
• Pita Bread: Round, flat Lebanese bread used to make wraps.
• Doormat: A mat placed in front of a house’s front door to enable guesets to clean their shoes before entering the house.
• Towel: Fluffy cloth used to dry a person’s body after a shower.
• Pasta:While pasta comes in many forms, shapes and sizes, it is generally first rolled out into flat sheets.
• Pastry Sheet: Flat sheets of pastry are usually available frozen for ease of use.
• Pizza Box: Flat boxes used to transport pizza neatly and easily.
• Notepad: A slim wad of lined paper used to take written notes.
• Sheese: A dairy-free (and therefore cruelty-free) version of cheese. Usually made with soy, coconut or almond.
• Table: Tables need to have flat surfaces in order to hold objects on them without rolling off onto the floor.
• Placemat: Flat panels made of plastic, metal, fabric, cardboard or cork used to protect a table’s surface from hot food while eating.
• Lino: This is short for linoleum, which is a common and cheap floor covering.
• Cymbal: Thin, hammered metal discs used as musical intruments.
• Drum: An instrument with a skin stretched taut over the tom and bottom.
• Roti: This is a flat indiant bread cooked in a pan and usually eaten with curry.
• Roll-up: This is a sweeter, more sugary version of fruit leather.
• Sour Strap: This is a candy in the shape of a wide, thin belt and covered with large sugar crystals.
• Chewing Gum: Many brands of chewing gum manufacture the gum in thin rectangular strips.
• Lilypad: Large round leaves that float on the surface of ponds.
• Mousepad: A small, flat surface for computer mice to rest on while being used.Using a mousepad helps a mouse track better.
• Touchpad: This is the sensitive pad on laptops that track the movements of a person’s finger in lieu of a computer mouse.
• Sandwich: These are made with sliced bread filled with flattened fillings like salad, tomato slices and sauces.
• Post Its: While these are now available in many shapes and sizes, the classic post-it notes are small coloured squares with a strip of tacky adhesive on one side.
• Stretcher Bar: These are wooden bars, usually cedar or pine, that can be slotted together to have canvas stretched over ready for painting.
• Mounting Board: This is a thick, sturdy cardboard available in many colours and sizes used to mount photos when being framed.
• Flat Brush: These are wide paintbrushes with a flat ferrule of hairs.
• Sketchbook: A slim book of blank, unlined paper, used for drawing.
• Hard Drive: These are small gadgets used to store extra data.
• Field: A wide expanse of outdoor area where grains are commonly grown.
• Tennis Court: A flat area where tennis games are played. Can be indoors or outdoors.
• Paddock: A paddock is an enclosure for horses.
• Screen: While curved screens are newly available, screens of all types have historically been flat.
• Lake: Lakes are a natural body of water.
• Serving Plate: A large plate, similar to a platter.
• Palette: These can be in reference to two things (both of which are flat) – a board for mixing paints on, and a kit of eyeshadow pans.
• Note (music): If a note is played slightly lower in tone than the intended note, then it’s called a “flat” note.
• Lid: A detachable top of a container to keep dust and dirt away from the interior.
• Blanket: A soft, flexible material used to keep warm by insulting body heat.
• Daybed: A couch that’s long enough to lie down on. Used as a casual bed for napping.
• Swatch: A small block of painted colour, used to show people what paint will look like when dry.
• Tea Bag: A thin bag of dried leaves.
• Frisbee: A disc used for sports and recreation, usually made of plastic of rigid foam.
• Saucer: A small ceramic disc used with teacups.
• Game Cartridge: These are flat cartridges that have games and saved game information in them.
• Weetbix: These are pressed rectangles of shredded wheat.
• Saltine: These are thin crackers known for their salty taste and dryness.
• Wafer: Very light, airy biscuits with icing layered between them.
• Mint Thin: A thin biscuit topped with mint fondant and covered in dark chocolate.
• Chocolate Bar: A piece of chocolate in a bar shape.
• Partition: A large panel or set of panels used to separate an area into sections.
• Wooden Plank: A cut piece of wood in a wide bar shape.
• Acetate: Thin, transparent plastic.
• Perspex: Transparent plastic used to make architecture models and jewelry.
• Popsicle Stick: A narrow piece of wood used as a handle for popsicles and other iced treats.
• Watercolour: Watercolour is a very thin medium, leading to flat paintings.
• Watercolour Pan: These are rectangular containers filled with dry watercolour paint, ready to be used when wet.
• Biscuit: While biscuits can come in any shape or size, they tend to be flat as they have no rising agents in their ingredient list.
• Pie: A pastry filled with savoury ingredients, eaten when hot.
• Fridge Magnet: Fridge magnets generally have a flatter, lower profile to prevent them from getting knocked off the fridge.
• Weight Disc: These are weighted discs that are placed onto a barbell to adjust the amount of weight used in a workout.
• Discworld: This is a fictional world created by Terry Pratchett.
• Tablecloth: A thin cloth used to cover a table to protect it from dirt and spills when eating.
• Bath Mat: A mat placed on the floor in a bathroom to prevent slipping on the wet floor after a shower.
• Roomba: A small autonomous vacuum which is circular and flat in shape.
• Bing (flatbread): A type of Chinese flatbread.
• Dorayaki: A Japanese sweetbread filled with red bean paste.
• Tyre: When a tyre is low on oxygen, it’s referred to as a flat tyre.
• Battery: If a battery has run out of energy, it’s called a flat battery.
• Stomach: When a stomach has a low amount of fat on it, it’s reffered to as a flat stomach.
• Anvil: An anvil is a strong, metal surface used in metalworking.
• Badge: A small icon attached to a pin, used as decoration on clothing and backpacks.
• Manta Ray: Flat marine life with “wings”.
• Sting Ray: Similar to manta rays, but with a different shape.
• Flounder: A type of flat fish.
• Turbot: A type of flat fish.
• Deflated Balloon: When not filled with air, balloons become shapeless and flat.
• Soft Drink: If a soft drink loses its carbonation and fizziness, it’s referred to as flat.
• Hair: If hair is oily, it can look flat.
• Attitude: When lacking enthusiasm, an attitude can be called flat.
• X-Ray: A flat piece of film used to investigate our skeleton.
• Atmosphere: If an atmosphere is lacking in energy and enthusiasm, it’s called a flat atmosphere.
• Tone of Voice: Without energy or enthusiasm, a tone of voice is flat.
• Performance: If a performance misses the mark, it’s called a flat performance.

We hope this list of flat things was useful and that you found what you needed.

While we did our best to cover all of the varied meanings of “flat” in this list, we may have missed something out – so feel free to let us know and leave a comment if you know of something that should be included.

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