flops
[flops]
- a measure of computer speed, equal to the number of floating-point operations the computer can perform per second (used especially in combination with mega-, giga-, tera-).
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Origin of flops
1985–90; fl(oating-point) op(erations per) s(econd)
flop
[flop]
- to fall or plump down suddenly, especially with noise; drop or turn with a sudden bump or thud (sometimes followed by down): The puppy flopped down on the couch.
- to change suddenly, as from one side or party to another (often followed by over).
- to be a complete failure; fail: The play flopped dismally.
- Informal. to sleep or be lodged: to flop at a friend's house.
- to swing loosely; bounce; flap: His long hair flops in his eyes when he runs.
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- to drop with a sudden bump or thud: He flopped his books on a chair.
- to dispose (oneself) in a heavily negligent manner: to flop oneself in a chair.
- to invert (the negative of a photograph) so that the right and left sides are transposed.
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- an act of flopping.
- the sound of flopping; a thud.
- a failure: The new comedy was a flop.
- Informal. a place to sleep; temporary lodging: The mission offered a flop and a free breakfast.
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Origin of flop
Synonyms
See more synonyms for flop on Thesaurus.com11. fiasco, disaster, debacle; bomb, dog.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for flops
Contemporary Examples
One can hardly sit on the Rosewood rooftop bar without seeing $200 flip flops and overhearing name and place-dropping.
Still, Quinn should take heart: lots of political powerhouses have had flops.
Of course, not being afraid to fail is not the same as not failing—and Bradbury had his flops.
Ryan Reynolds (coming off a pair of summer flops) is the inexperienced Cape Town operative who tries to bring him in.
Flick Picks: Denzel Washington as a Baddie, Rachel McAdams in ‘The Vow’Ramin Setoodeh, Peter Travers
February 10, 2012
Russell Simmons once told me that one hit artist could fund ten flops.
Historical Examples
It never stays still, and when it flops in my face it tickles me.
The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry IslandLaura Lee Hope
Instead, it flops over your horse's ears, or smacks you on the side of your own head.
Adventures in Many LandsVarious
Who flops in the chair and demands to be shorn of his bristles.
It is red and soft and long and flops over his bill on his chest.
Seven O'Clock StoriesRobert Gordon Anderson
An' when he gets to where I sits, he flops down flat on his back.
Injun and Whitey to the RescueWilliam S. Hart
flops
FLOPS
- floating-point operations per second: used as a measure of computer processing power (in combination with a prefix)megaflops; gigaflops
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flop
- (intr) to bend, fall, or collapse loosely or carelesslyhis head flopped backwards
- (when intr, often foll by into, onto, etc) to fall, cause to fall, or move with a sudden noisethe books flopped onto the floor
- (intr) informal to fail; be unsuccessfulthe scheme flopped
- (intr) to fall flat onto the surface of water, hitting it with the front of the body
- (intr often foll by out) slang to go to sleep
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- the act of flopping
- informal a complete failure
- US and Canadian slang a place to sleep
- athletics See Fosbury flop
- the flop poker the first three community cards dealt face-up in a round of any of several varieties of poker, including Texas hold 'em
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Word Origin
C17: variant of flap
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 flops
flop
n.
1823, in the literal sense, from flop (v.). Figurative use by 1893.
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flop
v.
c.1600, probably a variant of flap with a duller, heavier sound. Sense of "fall or drop heavily" is 1836, that of "collapse, fail" is 1919; though the figurative noun sense of "a failure" is recorded from 1893. Related: Flopped; flopping.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper