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• flood
  flood

  noun

  a great flowing or overflowing of water, especially over land not usually submerged.
• Flood
  Flood

  noun

  Old Testament the flood extending over all the earth from which Noah and his family and livestock were saved in the ark. (Genesis 7–8); the Deluge

flood

American  

[fluhd] / flʌd /

noun

• floods
  plural

1. a great flowing or overflowing of water, especially over land not usually submerged.

2. any great outpouring or stream.

   a flood of emotions;

   a flood of requests;

   a flood of patients.

3. the Flood, a universal deluge recorded in the Bible, believed to have occurred in the days of Noah.

4. the rise or flowing in of the tide (opposed to ebb).

5. a floodlight.

6. Archaic. a large body of water.

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verb (used with object)

• floods,
  present (3rd person singular)
• flooded,
  past participle,  past
• flooding
  present participle

1. to overflow in or cover with a flood; fill to overflowing.

   Don't flood the bathtub.

2. to cover or fill, as if with a flood.

   The road was flooded with cars.

   Synonyms:

   deluge, inundate

3. to overwhelm with an abundance of something.

   to be flooded with mail.

   Synonyms:

   deluge, inundate

4. Automotive. to supply too much fuel to (the carburetor), so that the engine fails to start.

5. to floodlight.

verb (used without object)

• floods,
  present (3rd person singular)
• flooded,
  past participle,  past
• flooding
  present participle

1. to flow or pour in or as if in a flood.

2. to rise in a flood; overflow.

3. Pathology.

   1. to suffer uterine hemorrhage, especially in connection with childbirth.

   2. to have an excessive menstrual flow.

flood ¹ British  

/ flʌd /

noun

1. 1. the inundation of land that is normally dry through the overflowing of a body of water, esp a river

   2. the state of a river that is at an abnormally high level (esp in the phrase in flood )

2. a great outpouring or flow

   a flood of words

3. 1. the rising of the tide from low to high water

   2. ( as modifier ) Compare ebb

      the flood tide

4. theatre short for floodlight

5. archaic a large body of water, as the sea or a river

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verb

1. (of water) to inundate or submerge (land) or (of land) to be inundated or submerged

2. to fill or be filled to overflowing, as with a flood

   the children's home was flooded with gifts

3. (intr) to flow; surge

   relief flooded through him

4. to supply an excessive quantity of petrol to (a carburettor or petrol engine) or (of a carburettor, etc) to be supplied with such an excess

5. (intr) to rise to a flood; overflow

6. (intr)

   1. to bleed profusely from the uterus, as following childbirth

   2. to have an abnormally heavy flow of blood during a menstrual period

Flood ² British  

/ flʌd /

noun

1. Old Testament the flood extending over all the earth from which Noah and his family and livestock were saved in the ark. (Genesis 7–8); the Deluge

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Flood ³ British  

/ flʌd /

noun

1. Henry . 1732–91, Anglo-Irish politician: leader of the parliamentary opposition to English rule

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flood Scientific  

/ flŭd /

1. A temporary rise of the water level, as in a river or lake or along a seacoast, resulting in its spilling over and out of its natural or artificial confines onto land that is normally dry. Floods are usually caused by excessive runoff from precipitation or snowmelt, or by coastal storm surges or other tidal phenomena.

2. ◆ Floods are sometimes described according to their statistical occurrence. A fifty-year flood is a flood having a magnitude that is reached in a particular location on average once every fifty years. In any given year there is a two percent statistical chance of the occurrence of a fifty-year flood and a one percent chance of a hundred-year flood.

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Synonym Usage

Flood, flash flood, deluge, freshet, inundation refer to the overflowing of normally dry areas, often after heavy rains. Flood is usually applied to the overflow of a great body of water, as, for example, a river, although it may refer to any water that overflows an area: a flood along the river; a flood in a basement. A flash flood is one that comes so suddenly that no preparation can be made against it; it is usually destructive, but begins almost at once to subside: a flash flood caused by a downpour. Deluge suggests a great downpouring of water, sometimes with destruction: The rain came down in a deluge. Freshet suggests a small, quick overflow such as that caused by heavy rains: a freshet in an abandoned watercourse. Inundation, a literary word, suggests the covering of a great area of land by water: the inundation of thousands of acres.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• flooder
  noun
• overflood
  verb
• underflood
  verb
• floodable
  adjective
• floodless
  adjective
• floodlike
  adjective
• preflood
  adjective
• unflooded
  adjective
• well-flooded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• floods
  plural

Participles

• flooding
  present
• flooded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• flood
  simple
• floods
  simple
• have flooded
  perfect
• has flooded
  perfect
• am flooding
  progressive
• are flooding
  progressive
• is flooding
  progressive
• have been flooding
  perfect progressive
• has been flooding
  perfect progressive

Past

• flooded
  simple
• had flooded
  perfect
• was flooding
  progressive
• were flooding
  progressive
• had been flooding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will flood
  simple
• will have flooded
  perfect
• will be flooding
  progressive
• will have been flooding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of flood

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun flod, Old English flōd; cognate with Gothic flōdus, Old High German fluot ( German Flut )

Explanation

A flood is an enormous amount of water. If the street is full of water, it's flooded. Too much of anything can also be called a flood. Whenever it rains and rains and rains, there's the danger of a flood, a type of disaster where water is out of control. Because a flood is so powerful, people use the word when overwhelmed by other things. A top college graduate could be flooded with job offers — that's a good kind of flood. People can also be flooded with emotion. Words with similar meanings are deluge and overflow. Too much — or just a lot — of anything can seem like a flood.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flood Flood floods flooded flooding

The flood swept away about a dozen houses and several suspension bridges, while a hydroelectric project was damaged, carrying some of the construction equipment away, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

One in seven properties in Wales is classed as being at risk of flooding, but NRW said just 27% of those eligible to receive flood warnings to their phone or email were currently signed up.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

It is believed that the flood was caused by a landslide upstream of the Budhi Gandaki River in the Gorkha district.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Save the Children is mobilising an emergency team to respond to Sunday's flood.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

How many people were trapped in this flood?

From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis

She believed her craft, a gift from the Almighty, emerged from her conversations with God and lifelong dreamlike visions of Genesis, Revelation and the Great Flood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

And a Black athlete empowered to stand for Black people is an athlete who should expect to be persecuted, like Curt Flood, whom Kaepernick mentioned.

From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2026

John Flood, a managing director at Goldman, said in a client note obtained by MarketWatch that investors were demonstrating a surprising lack of willingness to “play meaningful offense.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

So 19 members of Syston Community Flood Group donned their wellies in the middle of summer and took to Syston Brook to clear an estimated "two or three tonnes" of silt.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Devastating as the destruction was, it would be the human stories and the human suffering that would best define what would become known as the Great Molasses Flood.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

A moderate risk means that numerous flash floods are likely, and that many streams may flood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

He was part of a team of reporters recognized as Pulitzer Prize finalists for coverage of the deadly 2025 Texas floods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Climate experts have warned that the 2026-2027 El Niño is likely to cause major shifts in weather patterns around the world, intensifying droughts in some areas and floods in others.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

The Nepal floods would also put "a huge amount of pressure" on western countries to increase financial support for climate disaster recovery, said Ajay Mathur, a former Indian government negotiator.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

“I’ll never understand how a girl who loves tornadoes and hurricanes and floods could be scared of a little tick.”

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

A major river in Nepal has flooded, sweeping away houses, bridges and damaging a part of hydropower station, authorities have said.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

New York's subway is known for being dirty, noisy and sometimes flooded, but that doesn't stop people from flocking to grab a seat, sign or other memorabilia at a unique annual auction.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

“They’re being flooded with perimenopausal information and they’re trying to find the fountain of youth in an injectable form,” he said, adding that “longevity and fertility are inextricably linked.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

While comments congratulating the couple flooded Wilkins’ Instagram, comments on their podcast appearance sang a different tune, with one user saying, “Why is the FBI director on a podcast with his girlfriend?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Still, the enchantment lingered as the blue twilight flooded the land.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

The warming phase of a natural climate cycle, El Nino raises sea temperatures in the tropical Pacific, triggering changes in weather that can increase the risk of drought and flooding, and exacerbate man-made global warming.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Coastal flooding advisories from San Diego through San Luis Obispo, however, remain in place, with two more sets of potentially damaging high tides projected for Monday and Tuesday mornings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Rachel also brought flash flooding to Las Vegas near the Strip.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

The remnants of tropical storm Rachel brought rain and gnarly ocean conditions to much of Southern California, damaging homes in Newport Beach and flooding the Coachella Valley.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

I reached out to touch the mikveh’s walls, but there were only even greater depths and the bitter taste of salt flooding my mouth.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• choke
• deluge
• drown
• engulf
• fill
• flow
• overflow
• overwhelm
• rush
• saturate
• swamp
• sweep