A flute is a musical instrument that you play by blowing air across an opening while covering and uncovering holes or pressing keys along its body to create different notes. Unlike instruments where you blow into them (like a recorder or clarinet), with a flute you blow across the mouthpiece, similar to how you'd blow across the top of a bottle to make it whistle.

The modern concert flute is a long, slender tube made of metal (often silver or nickel) that produces clear, singing tones. Orchestra flutes are typically held horizontally to the side while playing. The piccolo is a smaller version that plays at a much higher pitch.

Flutes are among humanity's oldest instruments. Ancient flutes made from bone and wood date back over 40,000 years, making them possibly the first musical instruments ever invented. Cultures around the world developed their own flutes: the bamboo shakuhachi in Japan, the wooden recorder in Europe, the clay ocarina, and pan pipes made from hollow reeds.

When someone plays beautifully, you might say their music has a flute-like quality, meaning it sounds pure and melodic. The word can also describe the decorative vertical grooves carved into columns on fancy buildings, though that meaning is much less common.