flops

American

[flops] / flɒps /

noun

Computers.

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

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.

Director Ed Zwick explains why he goes there in ‘Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions.’

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2024

The Medford Mail-Tribune had a photo caption, “Fosbury Flops Over the Bar,” after one of his school meets.

From Washington Post • Mar. 14, 2023

The term Fosbury Flop is credited to the Medford Mail-Tribune, which wrote the headline “Fosbury Flops Over the Bar” after one of his high school meets.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 13, 2023

At a factory in Bogota, Columbia, workers make sandals for Combat Flip Flops.

From New York Times • May 30, 2022

There were Jackboots and Flops and young boys.

From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023