flour

[ flouuh r, flou-er ]
/ flaʊər, ˈflaʊ ər /

noun

verb (used with object)

to make (grain or the like) into flour; grind and bolt.
to sprinkle or dredge with flour: Flour the chicken before frying.

verb (used without object)

(of mercury) to refuse to amalgamate with another metal because of some impurity of the metal; lie on the surface of the metal in the form of minute globules.
to disintegrate into minute particles.

Origin of flour

1200–50; Middle English; special use of flower. Compare French fleur de farine the flower or finest part of the meal

OTHER WORDS FROM flour

flour·less, adjective o·ver·flour, verb un·floured, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH flour

flour flower

Example sentences from the Web for flour

British Dictionary definitions for flour

flour
/ (ˈflaʊə) /

noun

a powder, which may be either fine or coarse, prepared by sifting and grinding the meal of a grass, esp wheat
any finely powdered substance

verb

(tr) to make (grain) into flour
(tr) to dredge or sprinkle (food or cooking utensils) with flour
(of mercury) to break into fine particles on the surface of a metal rather than amalgamating, or to produce such an effect on (a metal). The effect is caused by impurities, esp sulphur

Derived forms of flour

floury, adjective

Word Origin for flour

C13 flur finer portion of meal, flower