Flatten vs. Pancake — What's the Difference?

Used metaphorically to describe reducing something in number or effect.

A thin, flat cake of batter, fried on both sides in a pan.

To remove irregularities or bumps.

To collapse or fall with the top directly down.

To overcome or knock down forcefully.

In acrobatics or stunt work, landing flat on one's back or front.

To make a surface or object smooth and even.

As a culinary dish, often served with syrup or toppings.

Making emotional or physical impacts less pronounced.

Used informally to describe a severe flattening.

To make flat or flatter.

A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, not to be confused with oat bar flapjacks) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying with oil or butter. Archaeological evidence suggests that pancakes were probably the earliest and most widespread cereal food eaten in prehistoric societies.The pancake's shape and structure varies worldwide.

To knock down; lay low

A thin, flat cake of batter, fried on both sides in a pan and typically rolled up with a sweet or savoury filling

To become flat or flatter.

Make-up consisting of a flat solid layer of compressed powder, used especially in the theatre.

(transitive) To make something flat or flatter.

(with reference to an aircraft) make or cause to make a pancake landing

(reflexive) To press one's body tightly against a surface, such as a wall or floor, especially in order to avoid being seen or harmed.

Flatten or become flattened

(transitive) To knock down or lay low.

A thin cake made of batter that is poured onto a hot greased surface and cooked on both sides until brown. Also called flannel cake, flapjack, griddle cake, hotcake; also called regionally battercake.

(intransitive) To become flat or flatter; to plateau.

To cause (an aircraft) to make a pancake landing.

(intransitive) To be knocked down or laid low.

To make a pancake landing.

(music) To lower by a semitone.

To fall flat to the ground with great force, especially to collapse in such a way that higher floors or structures fall directly on the ones beneath.

To make vapid or insipid; to render stale.

A thin batter cake fried in a pan or on a griddle in oil or butter; in particular:

To reduce (a data structure) to one that has fewer dimensions, e.g. a 2×2 array into a list of four elements.

In England, an often unleavened cake similar to a crepe.

To combine (separate layers) into a single image.

In the US (and e.g. Scotland), a leavened, thicker, fluffier cake.

To reduce to an even surface or one approaching evenness; to make flat; to level; to make plane.

(theater) A kind of makeup, consisting of a thick layer of a compressed powder.

To throw down; to bring to the ground; to prostrate; hence, to depress; to deject; to dispirit.

(juggling) A type of throw, usually with a ring where the prop is thrown in such a way that it rotates round an axis of the diameter of the prop.

To make vapid or insipid; to render stale.

Anything very thin and flat.

To lower the pitch of; to cause to sound less sharp; to let fall from the pitch.

Composite leather made of scraps, glue and board, by extension of (4), material originally used for insoles, but later used also for heels and even soles.

To become or grow flat, even, depressed, dull, vapid, spiritless, or depressed below pitch.

A box on which an actor stands to make them appear taller.

Make flat or flatter;

(volleyball) A defensive play in which the ball bounces off the top of a hand that has been pressed flat against the floor.

Become flat or flatter;

(intransitive) To make a pancake landing.

Lower the pitch of (musical notes)

To collapse one floor after another.

(transitive) To flatten violently.

A thin cake of batter fried in a pan or on a griddle; a griddlecake; a flapjack.

A flat cake of thin batter fried on both sides on a griddle

Yes, "pancake" can be used as a verb to describe something being squashed or flattened down forcefully.

In technology, flatten might refer to simplifying a data structure or removing layers in a graphic design.

When a building is described as pancaked, it means it has collapsed straight down into a flattened form, often due to structural failure.

A common metaphorical use of "pancake" is to describe something being completely flattened or crushed, often in accidents.

No, flattening can be metaphorical, such as reducing numbers, effects, or emotional impacts.

Pancakes typically contain flour, eggs, milk, and sometimes a leavening agent like baking powder.

Yes, culinary techniques such as flattening chicken breasts for uniform cooking use the verb "flatten".

To flatten a curve generally refers to reducing the peak of a statistical graph, often used in public health to describe slowing the spread of a virus.

Yes, flatten can have a negative connotation when used to describe suppressing or squashing something down forcefully.

In digital editing, flattening a photograph involves merging all layers into one to reduce file size and simplify editing.

In construction, flatten can refer to making a surface level in preparation for building or laying materials.

Variations include French crêpes, Russian blini, and Ethiopian injera, differing in ingredients and thickness.

Physical principles involve applying force evenly across a surface to make it level or reduce its volume.

Popular toppings include syrup, fruits, chocolate chips, and whipped cream.

If someone says they feel "pancaked," they might mean they feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or flattened by circumstances.