fleak

/fliːk/US/flik/

fleak noun: a small, light piece that is only loosely joined to something else, and which has a tendency to detach.

Noun

fleak (plural fleaks)

(dialectal, obsolete except UK) A small, light piece that is only loosely joined to something else, and which has a tendency to detach.
- The uſes indeed of the forenamed Plants are ſo univerſall, and take place ſo in every affaire of Man, that if it vvere lavvfull to be a little merry in ſo ſerious a matter, a man might not unfittingly apply that verſe of the Poet [Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto (Letters from the Black Sea), book IV...1653, Henry More, “Arguments of Divine Providence Drawn from the Usefulness of Plants”, in An Antidote against Atheisme, or An Appeal to the Natural Faculties of the Minde of Man, whether There Be...
- Above that Region the Wind blew at South-weſt by South, as appeared by ſome ſmall Fleaks of Clouds coming from that Quarter.1741 January–March, Eustachio Zanotti, “VII. A Collection of the Observations of the Remarkable Red Lights Seen in the Air on Dec. 5. 1737. Sent from Different Places to the Royal Society. [3....
(dialectal, obsolete except UK) A thin piece that is chipped or peeled off from the surface of something else.
- Plutarke alſo calleth this beaſt a meticulous and fearefull beaſt, and in this cauſe concludeth the change of his colour, not as ſome ſay, to auoyde and deceiue the beholders and to vvorke out his ovvne happineuſſe, but for meere dread and terrour. […] But I for my part doe aſſigne the true cauſe...1608, Edward Topsell, “Of the Chamæleon”, in The Historie of Serpents. Or, The Second Booke of Liuing Creatures: […], London: […] William Jaggard, →OCLC, page 116
- Now, it is very demonſtrable from vvhat has been ſaid, that all ſuch Effects may be produc'd by a Prick of a Nail, a Stub, or a Fleak, when it ſticks in thoſe tender ſenſible Parts, […] [I]f there be any Fleak or Piece of Nail remaining in the Quick, vvhich may be knovvn by examining the Nail you...1722, W[illiam] Gibson, “Of Retraits and Pricks in the Foot”, in The Farrier’s New Guide. […], 3rd edition, London: […] S. Palmer, for William Taylor, […], →OCLC, page 252
Synonyms:

chip, splinter, bit, chunk, tranche, clip, crumb, crumbling, cutting, flake
(dialectal, obsolete except UK) A thin piece that the flesh of some animals (such as fish) tends to break into.
- Upon Examination, I found that they [the fat] conſiſted of regular large Laminæ: vvhich vvere eaſily ſeparable from one another, in broad Fleaks; […]1698 April, Edw[ard] Tyson, “Carigueya, seu Marsupiale Americanum. Or, The Anatomy of an Opossum, Dissected at Gresham-College by Edvv. Tyson, […]”, in Philosophical Transactions. Giving Some Account...

Verb (1)

fleak (third-person singular simple present fleaks, present participle fleaking, simple past and past participle fleaked)

(obsolete, rare, transitive) Synonym of flake (“to remove (something) in fleaks or flakes (small chips or pieces)”).
- [M]any of them made use of flint for knives, […] this flint is of no regular form, and if they can only obtain a part of it, an inch or two in length that will cut they are satisfyed, they renew the edge by fleaking off the flint by means of the point of an Elk's or deer's horn.1805 August 23, Meriwether Lewis, “[August 23d Friday 1805]”, in Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, edited by Gary E. Moulton, The Definitive Journals of Lewis & Clark: Through the Rockies to the...
- Whence to flea, or to fleak, i.e. to pull off the skin. A school phrase, to be fleaked off, i.e. to have the skin fetched off by whipping.[1818, White Kennett, [B. Bandinel], “[A Glossary to Explain the Original, the Acceptation, and Obsoleteness, of Words and Phrases; and to Shew the Rise, Practice, and Alteration of Customs, Laws...
Synonyms:

flake

Verb (2)

fleak (third-person singular simple present fleaks, present participle fleaking, simple past and past participle fleaked)

(ambitransitive, obsolete) Synonym of fleck.
- [Edward] Young's Satires have been quite eclipsed by the fame of his Night Thoughts; a work the sublimity and dark splendour of which is fleaked with the wit and fancy which were essential constituents of his mind.1854, James Hannay, “Lecture V. Political Satire and Squibs.—Burns.”, in Satire and Satirists. Six Lectures, London: David Bogue, […], →OCLC, page 201
- [W]hat am I here for? Vividly, but still calmly, he felt this in every nerve; and hope—fleaked, of course, by the gleams of tenderness and regret, which strong men feel as much as weak ones, and know that they must conquer—was burning in him like a central fire, as he turned his pony's head home.1855, James Hannay, “Eustace Pays a Visit to Captain Turberville, R.N., and Sees Henry Mildew, Esq.”, in Eustace Conyers. […], volume I, London: Hurst and Blackett, publishers, successors to Henry...
Synonyms:

fleck

Examples of fleak in a sentence

Even Jupiter, […] is known chiefly by the dark shifting bands that, fleaking his surface in the line of his trade-winds, belong not to his body, but to his thick dark covering.1857, Hugh Miller, “Lecture Fourth. The Mosaic Vision of Creation.”, in The Testimony of the Rocks; or, Geology in Its Bearings on the Two...
The leaves are broader zoned with bright redish brown and deep chocolate, and within the zone fleaked with yellow and green, the outer margin being similarly colored.1867 December 28, “Horticultural Items”, in The Prairie Farmer: A Weekly Journal of Agriculture, Horticulture, Home Interests, Gen. News...
Just then a messenger arrived on a horse fleaked with foam, with orders for the Regiment to march back with all haste to Athens, as an attack was expected the next morning.1896, George H. Puntenney, chapter 4, in History of the Thirty-seventh Regiment of Indiana Infantry Volunteers: Its Organization...

Synonyms of fleak

15 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Forms of fleak

Noun
plural	fleaks
Verb
third-person singular present	fleaks
present participle	fleaking
past participle	fleaked
past	fleaked

Origin of fleak

A variant of flake (noun, verb).

A variant of fleck (verb).

Words that rhyme with fleak

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about fleak

What does fleak mean?: Fleak means a small, light piece that is only loosely joined to something else, and which has a tendency to detach.
How do you use fleak in a sentence?: Even Jupiter, […] is known chiefly by the dark shifting bands that, fleaking his surface in the line of his trade-winds, belong not to his body, but to his thick dark covering.
What part of speech is fleak?: Fleak can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce fleak?: Fleak is pronounced /fliːk/ (UK).
What is the plural of fleak?: The plural of fleak is fleaks.

Words near fleak in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: fleak (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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Cite this entry: “fleak.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fleak. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.