flow

[floh] /floʊ/
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.
3.
to stream or well forth:
Warmth flows from the sun.
4.
to issue or proceed from a source:
Orders flowed from the office.
5.
to menstruate.
6.
to come or go as in a stream:
A constant stream of humanity flowed by.
7.
to proceed continuously and smoothly:
Melody flowed from the violin.
8.
to hang loosely at full length:
Her hair flowed over her shoulders.
9.
to abound in something:
The tavern flowed with wine.
10.
to rise and advance, as the tide (opposed to ebb).
verb (used with object)
11.
to cause or permit to flow:
to flow paint on a wall before brushing.
12.
to cover with water or other liquid; flood.
noun
13.
an act of flowing.
14.
movement in or as if in a stream.
15.
the rate of flowing.
16.
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.
17.
something that flows; stream.
18.
an outpouring or discharge of something, as in a stream:
a flow of blood.
19.
menstruation.
20.
an overflowing; flood.
21.
the rise of the tide (opposed to ebb).
22.
Machinery. progressive distortion of a metal object under continuous service at high temperature.
23.
Physics. the transference of energy:
heat flow.
Origin
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.
Related forms
flowable, adjective
flowability, noun
reflow, noun, verb
underflow, noun
Can be confused
floe, flow (see synonym study at the current entry)
Synonyms
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.
Examples from the web for flow
  • Here they define current electricity as a steady flow of electrons.
  • It's easy, the way the system works, to simply go with the flow.
  • The pressure due to the flow of the water in the pipe is proportional to the length of the pipe.
  • When drops of rain fall, some of them flow downhill, each carrying a bit of dirt.
  • How to provide privacy while maximizing space and flow was the problem tackled in the design of this master bath.
  • If you have the time to invest it really starts to flow.
  • If you have a blocked artery, inserting a balloon catheter into the artery may improve blood flow.
  • By using this technique, our students can see the structure of the text and understand the flow of the thesis.
  • The laws of economic gravity suggest capital should flow from where it is abundant to where it is scarce.
  • But such water, if it did appear, would likely flow only short distances before freezing in the planet's brutal cold.
British Dictionary definitions for flow

flow

/fləʊ/
verb (mainly intransitive)
1.
(of liquids) to move or be conveyed as in a stream
2.
(of blood) to circulate around the body
3.
to move or progress freely as if in a stream: the crowd flowed into the building
4.
to proceed or be produced continuously and effortlessly: ideas flowed from her pen
5.
to show or be marked by smooth or easy movement
6.
to hang freely or loosely: her hair flowed down her back
7.
to be present in abundance: wine flows at their parties
8.
an informal word for menstruate
9.
(of tide water) to advance or rise Compare ebb (sense 1)
10.
(transitive) to cover or swamp with liquid; flood
11.
(of rocks such as slate) to yield to pressure without breaking so that the structure and arrangement of the constituent minerals are altered
noun
12.
the act, rate, or manner of flowing: a fast flow
13.
a continuous stream or discharge
14.
continuous progression
15.
the advancing of the tide
16.
a stream of molten or solidified lava
17.
the amount of liquid that flows in a given time
18.
an informal word for menstruation
19.
(Scot)
  1. a marsh or swamp
  2. an inlet or basin of the sea
  3. (capital when part of a name): Scapa Flow
20.
flow of spirits, natural happiness
Word Origin
Old English flōwan; related to Old Norse flōa, Middle Low German vlōien, Greek plein to float, Sanskrit plavate he swims
Word Origin and History for flow
v.

Old English flowan "to flow, stream, issue; become liquid, melt; abound, overflow" (class VII strong verb; past tense fleow, past participle flowen), from Proto-Germanic *flo- (cf. Middle Dutch vloyen, Dutch vloeien "to flow," Old Norse floa "to deluge," Old High German flouwen "to rinse, wash"), probably from PIE *pleu- "flow, float" (see pluvial). The weak form predominated from 14c., but strong past participle flown is occasionally attested through 18c. Related: Flowed; flowing.

n.

mid-15c., "action of flowing," from flow (v.). Meaning "amount that flows" is from 1807. Flow chart attested from 1920.

flow in Medicine

flow (flō)
v. flowed, flow·ing, flows

  1. To move or run smoothly with unbroken continuity.

  2. To circulate, as the blood in the body.

  3. To menstruate.

n.

  1. The smooth motion characteristic of fluids.

  2. The volume of fluid or gas passing a given point per unit of time.

  3. Menstrual discharge.

Slang definitions & phrases for flow

flow

verb

To menstruate: am flowing, so can't do inverted poses


flow in Technology

tool
A companion utility to Floppy by Julian James Bunn julian@vxcrna.cxern.ch. Flow allows the user to produce various reports on the structure of Fortran 77 code, such as flow diagrams and common block tables. It runs under VMS, Unix, CMS.
Posted to comp.sources.misc volume 31.
(1995-03-14)

Idioms and Phrases with flow

flow

see: