flow

[ floh ]
See synonyms for: flowflowedflowingflows on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to move along in a stream: The river flowed slowly to the sea.

  2. to circulate: blood flowing through one's veins.

  1. to stream or well forth: Warmth flows from the sun.

  2. to issue or proceed from a source: Orders flowed from the office.

  3. to menstruate.

  4. to come or go as in a stream: A constant stream of humanity flowed by.

  5. to proceed continuously and smoothly: Melody flowed from the violin.

  6. to hang loosely at full length: Her hair flowed over her shoulders.

  7. to abound in something: The tavern flowed with wine.

  8. to rise and advance, as the tide (opposed to ebb).

verb (used with object)
  1. to cause or permit to flow: to flow paint on a wall before brushing.

  2. to cover with water or other liquid; flood.

noun
  1. an act of flowing.

  2. movement in or as if in a stream.

  1. the rate of flowing.

  2. the volume of fluid that flows through a passage of any given section during a unit of time: Oil flow of the well was 500 barrels a day.

  3. something that flows; stream.

  4. an outpouring or discharge of something, as in a stream: a flow of blood.

  5. an overflowing; flood.

  6. the rise of the tide (opposed to ebb).

  7. Machinery. progressive distortion of a metal object under continuous service at high temperature.

  8. Physics. the transference of energy: heat flow.

Origin of flow

1
First recorded before 900; (verb) Middle English flowen, Old English flōwan; akin to Middle Low German vlōien, Old Norse flōa; (noun) late Middle English: “surge of a wave,” derivative of the verb

synonym study For flow

1. Flow, gush, spout, spurt refer to certain of the movements characteristic of fluids. Flow is the general term: Water flows. A stream of blood flows. To gush is to rush forth copiously from a cavity, in as large a volume as can issue therefrom, as the result of some strong impelling force: The water will gush out if the main breaks. Spout and spurt both imply the ejecting of a liquid from a cavity by some internal impetus given to it. Spout implies a rather steady, possibly well-defined, jet or stream, not necessarily of long duration but always of considerable force: A whale spouts. Spurt implies a forcible, possibly sudden, spasmodic, or intermittent issue or jet: The liquid spurted out suddenly when the bottle cap was pushed in. Spout applies only to liquids; the other terms apply also to gases.

Other words for flow

Other words from flow

  • flow·a·ble, adjective
  • flow·a·bil·i·ty, noun
  • re·flow, noun, verb
  • un·der·flow, noun

Words that may be confused with flow

Words Nearby flow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use flow in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for flow

flow

/ (fləʊ) /


verb(mainly intr)
  1. (of liquids) to move or be conveyed as in a stream

  2. (of blood) to circulate around the body

  1. to move or progress freely as if in a stream: the crowd flowed into the building

  2. to proceed or be produced continuously and effortlessly: ideas flowed from her pen

  3. to show or be marked by smooth or easy movement

  4. to hang freely or loosely: her hair flowed down her back

  5. to be present in abundance: wine flows at their parties

  6. an informal word for menstruate

  7. (of tide water) to advance or rise: Compare ebb (def. 1)

  8. (tr) to cover or swamp with liquid; flood

  9. (of rocks such as slate) to yield to pressure without breaking so that the structure and arrangement of the constituent minerals are altered

noun
  1. the act, rate, or manner of flowing: a fast flow

  2. a continuous stream or discharge

  1. continuous progression

  2. the advancing of the tide

  3. a stream of molten or solidified lava

  4. the amount of liquid that flows in a given time

  5. an informal word for menstruation

  6. Scot

    • a marsh or swamp

    • an inlet or basin of the sea

    • (capital when part of a name): Scapa Flow

  7. flow of spirits natural happiness

Origin of flow

1
Old English flōwan; related to Old Norse flōa, Middle Low German vlōien, Greek plein to float, Sanskrit plavate he swims

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with flow

flow

see ebb and flow; go with the flow.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.