flour

[ flouuhr, flou-er ]

noun

1. the finely ground meal of grain, especially the finer meal separated by bolting.
2. the finely ground and bolted meal of wheat, as that used in baking.
3. any finely ground meal resembling this, as of nuts or legumes: chickpea flour.

   almond flour;

   chickpea flour.

4. a finely ground, powdery foodstuff, as of dehydrated potatoes, fish, or bananas.
5. a fine, soft powder:

   flour of emery.

verb (used with object)

1. to grind (grain or the like) into flour.
2. to sprinkle or dredge with flour:

   Flour the chicken before frying.

verb (used without object)

1. (of mercury) to refuse to amalgamate with another metal because of some impurity of the metal; lie on the surface of the metal in the form of minute globules.
2. to disintegrate into minute particles.

flour

/ ˈflaʊə /

noun

1. a powder, which may be either fine or coarse, prepared by sifting and grinding the meal of a grass, esp wheat
2. any finely powdered substance

verb

1. tr to make (grain) into flour
2. tr to dredge or sprinkle (food or cooking utensils) with flour
3. (of mercury) to break into fine particles on the surface of a metal rather than amalgamating, or to produce such an effect on (a metal). The effect is caused by impurities, esp sulphur

Derived Forms

• ˈfloury, adjective

Other Words From

• flour·less adjective
• o·ver·flour verb
• un·floured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of flour¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English flour, flur, flower, special use of flower (in the sense “finest part”); compare French fleur de farine “the flower, or finest part, of meal”

Word History and Origins

Origin of flour¹

C13 flur finer portion of meal, flower

Example Sentences

This helps explain how an ingredient called tara flour was able to sicken hundreds of people who consumed French Lentil + Leek Crumbles, a meat replacement product sold by Daily Harvest in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times

Right after buying the land, he crushed up a piece of ore and found what miners call flour gold — tiny, fine specks of gold.

From Los Angeles Times

“No flour, no food, no drink, no shelter,” she went on.

From BBC

I got the Sellers Hoosier, a wooden hutch with a built-in tin flour bin and a metal bread kneading shelf, now more than 100 years old, that my great-grandmother used to bake on.

From Los Angeles Times

Stolen goods, from flour to winter shelters, sent as international donations and meant to be given as free handouts to needy people can only be bought at extortionate prices on Gaza’s black market.

From BBC

Related Words

• grate