Flaw

How to spell flaw

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce flaw

What does flaw mean?

1. nounA fault or imperfection that spoils something otherwise sound.
2. verbTo mark or weaken something by introducing a fault.

Flaw in a sentence

• noun

  The inspector found a tiny flaw in the casting before it shipped.

• verb

  One careless edit can flaw an otherwise polished report.

• noun

  The only flaw in her plan was the lack of a backup budget.

• verb

  Excess heat may flaw the finish on the new countertop.

Where does flaw come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

The word entered Middle English around the 1300s and is generally traced to the Old Norse 'flaga', which meant a slab, flake, or thin layer of stone. From this idea of a flake or splinter, the sense narrowed to a fragment or chip, and then to a break or crack in something that should be whole. By the late Middle Ages 'flaw' had come to mean a defect or imperfection, especially a fault running through gems, metal, or pottery. From there it broadened into the modern figurative meaning of any blemish in a plan, argument, or character. The spelling is short and irregular, with the unusual '-aw' ending capturing the long 'aw' vowel, which is why the silent shape of the word can briefly trip up a writer expecting a more obvious form.

How the word is built

• flaw (single root; no prefix or suffix)