Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A protruding rim, edge, rib, or collar, as on a wheel or a pipe shaft, used to strengthen an object, hold it in place, or attach it to another object.
  • noun A wide edge on a pillow, placemat, or other fabric object, especially a piece of fabric or ribbon extending from the outer seam.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A projecting edge, rim, or rib on any object, as the rims by which cast-iron pipes are connected together, or the marginal projections on the tires of railroad-car wheels to keep them on the rails.
  • noun A strengthening rib: as, the flange of a fish-bellied rail or girder.
  • noun A plate placed over the end of a pipe or cylinder to close it partly or wholly.
  • To project out.
  • To be bent into a flange; take the form of a flange.
  • To furnish with a flange; make a flange on.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun An external or internal rib, or rim, for strength, as the flange of an iron beam; or for a guide, as the flange of a car wheel (see car wheel.); or for attachment to another object, as the flange on the end of a pipe, steam cylinder, etc.
  • noun A plate or ring to form a rim at the end of a pipe when fastened to the pipe.
  • noun a plate for covering or closing the end of a pipe.
  • noun a joint, as that of pipes, where the connecting pieces have flanges by which the parts are bolted together.
  • noun a rail with a flange on one side, to keep wheels, etc. from running off.
  • noun the process of forming a flange on a wrought iron plate by bending and hammering it when hot.
  • intransitive verb To be bent into a flange.
  • transitive verb (Mach.) To make a flange on; to furnish with a flange.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An external or internal rib or rim, used either to add strength or to hold something in place.
  • noun The projecting edge of a rigid or semi-rigid component.
  • noun gaming An ability in a role-playing game which is not commonly available, overpowered or arbitrarily imposed by the referees.
  • noun vulgar slang A vulva.
  • noun rare, humorous The collective noun for a group of baboons.
  • verb To be bent into a flange.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a projection used for strength or for attaching to another object

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Possibly variant of flanch, device at the side of an escutcheon, perhaps from French flanche, feminine of flanc, side; see flank.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

English dialect flange to project, flanch a projection. See flank. As a term for a group of baboons, first used in the comedy TV series Not the Nine O'Clock News.

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Examples

  • Last week, as you remember, we removed the stub of the riser pipe and we put in what we call a flange spool.

    Monkeyfister 2010

  • While about 3 to 6 feet of the broken south tower legs and the other wide flange is still in place.

    Sound Politics: "Operator in crane wreck has history of drug abuse" 2006

  • That paved the way for the installation of a pipe-like connector called a flange spool that will sit on top of the spewing well bore.

    New Cap On Gulf Oil Leak: BP 'Pleased' But No Promises 2010

  • The flange is the two disc like metal parts that allow them to connect the various units together and would have absolutely no oil leaking out.

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • The flange is the two disc like metal parts that allow them to connect the various units together and would have absolutely no oil leaking out.

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • The flange is the two disc like metal parts that allow them to connect the various units together and would have absolutely no oil leaking out.

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • The flange is the two disc like metal parts that allow them to connect the various units together and would have absolutely no oil leaking out.

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • The flange is the two disc like metal parts that allow them to connect the various units together and would have absolutely no oil leaking out.

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • The flange is the two disc like metal parts that allow them to connect the various units together and would have absolutely no oil leaking out.

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

  • The flange is the two disc like metal parts that allow them to connect the various units together and would have absolutely no oil leaking out.

    WN.com - Photown News 2010

Comments

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  • Your flange is very impressive

    January 24, 2008

  • From "C. Musonius Rufus" by Guy Davenport

    January 19, 2010