flex

[fleks]

verb (used with object)

to bend, as a part of the body: He flexed his arms to show off his muscles.
to tighten (a muscle) by contraction.

verb (used without object)

to bend.

noun

the act of flexing.
British.
1. any flexible, insulated electric cord; an electric cord or extension cord.
2. Slang.an elastic band, as a garter.
Mathematics. an inflection point.

Origin of flex

1515–25; (adj.) < Latin flexus, past participle of flectere to bend, turn; (noun) < Latin flexus act of bending, equivalent to flect(ere) + -tus suffix of v. action

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for flexing

tilt, tighten, lean, ply, angle, stretch, spring, curve, contract, crook, yield, mold

Examples from the Web for flexing

Contemporary Examples of flexing

The tech industry, it seems, is flexing its political muscle more than ever before.
We Need to Talk About Silicon Valley's Racism
Samantha Allen
August 22, 2014
Already in 2013 there have been multiple instances of Golden Dawn flexing their newly founded popularity.
Golden Dawn Continues Its Message of Hate
Ilana Glazer
May 3, 2013
In practice, the frequency of employees telecommuting and flexing their time is low.
Yahoo’s Work-From-Home Ban a Bigger Blow to Men
Ellen Galinsky
March 4, 2013
Then Calvin Klein aired a two-minute commercial featuring an Adonis flexing in underwear.
Oscars, the Super Bowl for Women & Other People’s Super Bowls
Kevin Fallon
February 22, 2013
The same mechanism controls our most basic processes, including the flexing of a muscle or the beating of the heart.
Hot Reads, Sept. 17, 2012: ‘Sutton,’ ‘The Canvas,’ ‘Ike’s Bluff’
Nicholas Mancusi
September 16, 2012

Historical Examples of flexing

She sat and stared at the black letters, flexing the packet filled with bills.
The Harbor of Doubt
Frank Williams
First she stood tentatively, flexing her knees and testing her weight.
Subspace Survivors
E. E. Smith
Flexing his hands until he worked some feeling into them, he inched the ship lower.
Bolden's Pets
F. L. Wallace
The flexing of the limbs is probably also an Upper Palolithic custom.
Men of the Old Stone Age
Henry Fairfield Osborn
Sine was flexing his muscles, sitting up with the support of one elbow.
The Metal Moon
Everett C. Smith

British Dictionary definitions for flexing

flex

noun

British a flexible insulated electric cable, used esp to connect appliances to mainsUS and Canadian name: cord
informal flexibility or pliability

verb

to bend or be benthe flexed his arm; his arm flexed
to contract (a muscle) or (of a muscle) to contract
(intr) to work according to flexitime
to test or display (one's authority or strength)

Word Origin for flex

C16: from Latin flexus bent, winding, from flectere to bend, bow

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

Word Origin and History for flexing

flex

1520s, probably a back-formation from flexible. Related: Flexed; flexing.

flexing in Medicine

flex

[flĕks]

To bend.
To contract a muscle.
To move a joint so that the parts it connects approach each other.