flaky

UK: /ˈfleɪki/ US: (flā′kē)

Inflections of 'flaky' (adj):

flakier

adj comparative

flakiest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

flak•y  (flā′kē), adj., flak•i•er, flak•i•est. 

1. of or like flakes.
2. lying or cleaving off in flakes or layers.
3. [Slang.] eccentric;
   wacky;
   dizzy:
   a flaky math professor.

Also, flak′ey 

• 1570–80; 1965–70 for def. 3; flake¹ + -y¹; sense of def. 3 probably flake⁴ + -y¹, though influenced by flake¹

flak′i•ly, adv. 
flak′i•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

flaky, flakey / ˈfleɪkɪ/ adjective (flakier, flakiest)

1. like or made of flakes
2. tending to peel off or break easily into flakes
3. eccentric; crazy

ˈflakily adverb

ˈflakiness noun

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

flake¹ /fleɪk/   n., v., flaked, flak•ing. 
n. [countable]

1. a small, flat, thin piece:
   a few flakes of snow.
2. Slang Terms an eccentric person;
   screwball.

v. [no object]

3. to peel off, fall in, or form into flakes:
   Cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

flak•y, adj., -i•er, -i•est. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

flake¹  (flāk), n., v., flaked, flak•ing. 
n. 

1. a small, flat, thin piece, esp. one that has been or become detached from a larger piece or mass:
   flakes of old paint.
2. any small piece or mass:
   a flake of snow.
3. a stratum or layer.
4. Slang Terms an eccentric person;
   screwball.
5. Slang Terms cocaine.
6. Anthropology, Building a usually broad, often irregular piece of stone struck from a larger core and sometimes retouched to form a flake tool.

v.i. 

7. to peel off or separate in flakes.
8. to fall in flakes, as snow.

v.t. 

9. to remove in flakes.
10. to break flakes or chips from;
    break into flakes:
    to flake fish for a casserole.
11. to cover with or as if with flakes.
12. to form into flakes.

• 1350–1400; (noun, nominal) Middle English; akin to Old English flac- in flacox flying (said of arrows), Old Norse flakka to rove, wander, Middle Dutch vlacken to flutter; (in def. 4) by back formation from flaky, in sense "eccentric, odd''; (verb, verbal) late Middle English: to fall in flakes, derivative of the noun, nominal

flake′less, adj. 
flak′er, n. 

flake²  (flāk), n. 

1. a frame, as for drying fish.

• Old Norse flaki, fleki bridge, hurdle
• Middle English flake, fleke 1300–50

flake³  (flāk), n., v., flaked, flak•ing. [Naut.]
n. 

1. Nautical, Naval Terms fake² (defs. 1, 2).

v.t. 

2. Nautical, Naval Terms fake² (def. 3).
3. Nautical, Naval Terms to lower (a fore-and-aft sail) so as to drape the sail equally on both sides over its boom.

• apparently variant of fake² 1620–30

flake⁴  (flāk), v., flaked, flak•ing. flake out, [Slang.]

1. to fall asleep;
   take a nap.

• 1935–40; perh. expressive variant of flag³; compare Brit. dialect, dialectal flack to hang loosely, flap