flow
[ floh ]
/ floʊ /
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
to cause or permit to flow: to flow paint on a wall before brushing.
to cover with water or other liquid; flood.
noun
Origin of flow
before 900; (v.) 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 v.
SYNONYMS 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.
7 run.
9 teem.
OTHER WORDS FROM flow
flow·a·ble, adjective flow·a·bil·i·ty, noun re·flow, noun, verb un·der·flow, nounWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH flow
floe flow (see synonym study at the current entry)Words nearby flow
Example sentences from the Web for flow
British Dictionary definitions for flow
flow
/ (fləʊ) /
verb (mainly intr)
noun
Word Origin for flow
Old English
flōwan; related to Old Norse
flōa, Middle Low German
vlōien, Greek
plein to float, Sanskrit
plavate he swims
Medical definitions for flow
flow
[ flō ]
v.
To move or run smoothly with unbroken continuity.
To circulate, as the blood in the body.
To menstruate.
n.
The smooth motion characteristic of fluids.
The volume of fluid or gas passing a given point per unit of time.
Menstrual discharge.
Idioms and Phrases with flow
flow
see ebb and flow; go with the flow.