flat-packn.adj.
/ˈflatpak/, U.S. /ˈflætˌpæk/ A. n.
1. Electronics. A component consisting of an integrated circuit packaged inside a shallow rectangular sealed unit, with a number of horizontal metal connecting pins protruding from its sides.
ΚΠ
1964 IEEE Trans. Component Parts 11 135 (title) Interconnection of integrated circuit flat packs in Autonetics improved Minuteman Program.
1982 Giant Bk. Electronics Projects i. 59 The flat pack and the 10-lead metal can packages do not have enough pins to accommodate all the internal functions of the 723.
1999 Electronic Engin. Times (Electronic ed.) 8 Apr. 35 The $95 chip is packaged in a 16-pin glass wall flatpack.
2. British. A piece of flat-pack furniture, etc.; the set of unassembled components, or the pack itself.
ΚΠ
1991 Ideal Home (BNC) Apr. 28 (caption) It's so easy to sit back and relax in this beautiful conservatory from Durabuild... You can buy it as a flat-pack for self-assembly or have it assembled by the company.
1996 Time Out July 131/1 A charisma-free couple living in a house..built out of a flatpack from Ikea.
1999 C. Brookmyre One Fine Day in Middle of Night (2000) 271 The intended layout of the tables and decorative furnishings was marked on the floor with blue electrical tape, the furniture itself was still in flatpacks.
B. adj. (attributive).
British. Of, designating, or relating to a piece of self-assembly furniture, etc., whose components are supplied in a flat, easily transportable package. Also: designating a prefabricated house supplied in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > condition of being broad in relation to thickness > [adjective] > able to be packed flat
pack-flat1947
flat-pack1982
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > building of specific construction > [adjective]
wandedc1593
brick-built1596
rock-built1596
mud-walled1607
sedgy1624
sodden1639
nogged1688
frame1760
logged1784
stucco1786
weatherboarded1794
piled1795
thick-walled1820
clapboarded1835
board-built1837
pebble-dashed1839
puncheoned1843
timber-framed1843
betimbered1847
pile-built1851
massy1855
bamboo-walled1858
portable1860
half-timber1874
stone-faced1874
Red River frame1879
ashlared1881
granolithic1881
brick-end1883
converted1888
steel frame1898
board-and-bat1902
traviated1902
steel-framed1906
prefabricated1921
prefab1937
multiwall1940
pre-engineered1955
curtain-walled1959
pre-fabbed1959
timber-frame1967
system-built1968
flat-pack1982
1970 Kay & Co. (Worcester) Catal. Autumn–Winter 631/2 All units are supplied packed flat with easy to follow assembly instructions.]
1982 Financial Times 14 Jan. 22/6 Swandrake packs, sells and distributes furniture and flat-pack furniture.
1987 Times (BNC) 5 Oct. 25/2 Asda-MFI..will collect about £500 million for the sale of its flat-pack retailer.
1996 Marketing Week (Nexis) 15 Mar. 20 You have..picked up a flat-pack bookcase..and then triumphantly assembled your purchase.
2000 Sunday Tel. 2 Jan. (Review section) 21 The history of flat-pack houses goes back much further than Ikea, which has just announced that it is to start selling pre-fabricated starter homes in the UK.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.adj.1964