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Glite Dictionary
corn flake

corn flake

9 1.0
A thin crisp toasted piece made from corn eaten for breakfast with milk
  • noun
  • /kɔrn fleɪk/
translation icon : copos de maíz
  • I enjoy eating corn flakes in the morning with cold milk.
  • a bowl of corn flakes
  • eat corn flakes
  • a box of corn flakes

Examples

  • Or we've got milk, but you're having that on your corn flakes.

    Brick (2006)

  • These are corn flakes.

    Another Stakeout (1993)

  • ... and be home in time for corn flakes.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I'll start you off with some corn flakes.

    Marley & Me (2008)

  • Bob sat on the floor eating the dry corn flakes, considering his situation.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Sits down at the kitchen table with a bowl, corn flakes, and a banana.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • "So how about some corn flakes and bananas?" he asked.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Rachell had her corn flakes and said, "God is great, God is good, now we thank Thee for our food."

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I rushed through a bowl of corn flakes and caught about ten minutes of The Flintstones before grabbing my tin lunch pail and running out the door to get to the bus stop on time.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The two women took in sewing, did some typing, ate corn flakes for dinner, and, with a loan from a great-aunt, finally moved to Bethesda and opened a gift shop that specialized in Hummel china figurines.

    Fiction book (1998)

Synonyms

cornflake
vscorn flake
16 1.0

A thin, crunchy flake of toasted corn eaten with milk for breakfast

is the same but written as two separate words

How Crunchy

puffed rice
1 2.2
corn flake
9 1.0
bran flake
2 1.9
muesli
3 3.4
porridge
27 1.0

Surface Forms

corn flake singular
corn flakes plural

Morphology

corn + flake

The meaning (a thin, crisp flake made from corn) is directly and transparently derived from combining 'corn' (maize) with 'flake' (a small thin fragment): the noun-noun compound simply specifies the material/source of the flake. This compositional pattern is common in English and other languages (e.g., 'flocons de maïs', 'copos de maíz'), so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Corn flake was named for the food the Kellogg brothers made in the late 1800s: they cooked corn, flattened it into thin pieces and toasted them until crisp. They served these plain, crispy pieces at a health clinic, and that picture of a thin, crunchy flake of corn is why today corn flakes means 'a thin, crisp cereal eaten for breakfast'.