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Showing results for "flops"
  • present tense form of flop (3rd person singular).
  • plural of flop.

flops

American  
[flops] / flɒps /

noun

Computers.
  1. a measure of computer speed, equal to the number of floating-point operations the computer can perform per second (used especially in combination withmega-, giga-, tera- ).


flops British  

acronym

  1. floating-point operations per second: used as a measure of computer processing power (in combination with a prefix)

    megaflops

    gigaflops

"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

Etymology

Origin of flops

First recorded in 1985–90; shortening of fl(oating-point) op(erations per) s(econd)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The show, which premiered on Broadway in 1947, was Lerner and Loewe’s first hit after a string of flops and fizzles.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

Perhaps the next couple of months could be spent courting record labels and songwriters, instead of leaning on Thomas Stengaard, the Danish musician who co-wrote our last two flops.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

If it’s a mixture of high returns and big flops, he’s cherry-picking stocks without due care.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026

In entertainment circles, the Oscar curse is a dreaded phenomenon, characterized by actors who have been nominated or won an Oscar, only for their post-prestige careers to be fraught with flops.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026

Noah flops happily down next to him, a loony smile on his face.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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