flow

[ floh ]

/ floʊ /

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See synonyms for: flow / flowed / flowing / flows on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to move along in a stream: The river flowed slowly to the sea.

to circulate: blood flowing through one's veins.

to stream or well forth: Warmth flows from the sun.

to issue or proceed from a source: Orders flowed from the office.

to menstruate.

to come or go as in a stream: A constant stream of humanity flowed by.

to proceed continuously and smoothly: Melody flowed from the violin.

to hang loosely at full length: Her hair flowed over her shoulders.

to abound in something: The tavern flowed with wine.

to rise and advance, as the tide (opposed to ebb).

verb (used with object)

to cause or permit to flow: to flow paint on a wall before brushing.

to cover with water or other liquid; flood.

noun

an act of flowing.

movement in or as if in a stream.

the rate of flowing.

the volume of fluid that flows through a passage of any given section during a unit of time: Oil flow of the well was 500 barrels a day.

something that flows; stream.

an outpouring or discharge of something, as in a stream: a flow of blood.

menstruation.

an overflowing; flood.

the rise of the tide (opposed to ebb).

Machinery. progressive distortion of a metal object under continuous service at high temperature.

Physics. the transference of energy: heat flow.

OTHER WORDS FOR flow

7 run.

9 teem.

See synonyms for flow on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of flow

First recorded before 900; (verb) Middle English flowen, Old English flōwan; akin to Middle Low German vlōien, Old Norse flōa; (noun) late Middle English: “surge of a wave,” derivative of the verb

synonym study for flow

1. Flow, gush, spout, spurt refer to certain of the movements characteristic of fluids. Flow is the general term: Water flows. A stream of blood flows. To gush is to rush forth copiously from a cavity, in as large a volume as can issue therefrom, as the result of some strong impelling force: The water will gush out if the main breaks. Spout and spurt both imply the ejecting of a liquid from a cavity by some internal impetus given to it. Spout implies a rather steady, possibly well-defined, jet or stream, not necessarily of long duration but always of considerable force: A whale spouts. Spurt implies a forcible, possibly sudden, spasmodic, or intermittent issue or jet: The liquid spurted out suddenly when the bottle cap was pushed in. Spout applies only to liquids; the other terms apply also to gases.

OTHER WORDS FROM flow

flow·a·ble, adjectiveflow·a·bil·i·ty, nounre·flow, noun, verbun·der·flow, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH flow

floe, flow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use flow in a sentence

One thing to note is Berkeley catches a lot of the eastward fog flow blankets from the Golden Gate Bridge.
Berkeley: A City That Fights for the Rights of All|LGBTQ-Editor|November 20, 2020|No Straight News
The good thing is that my network typically tends to send me quite highly curated deals so essentially the deal flow I have luckily tends to be quite high quality, which makes things a bit more manageable.
Why is GoCardless COO Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas pivoting to become a full-time VC?|Steve O'Hear|November 20, 2020|TechCrunch
The literary flow slows as Pattison probes the ins and outs of Ardi’s skeletal parts.
Ardi and her discoverers shake up hominid evolution in ‘Fossil Men’|Bruce Bower|November 18, 2020|Science News
Interconnected supply chains and global flows of data, finance, and people offer more “surface area” for risk to penetrate, and ripple effects can travel across these network structures rapidly.
Why investing in supply chain resilience pays off|lbelanger225|November 16, 2020|Fortune

This requires finer-grained control for data flows in backend systems.
Concrete steps marketers should take now to get ready for CA’s CPRA in 2023|Greg Sterling|November 11, 2020|Search Engine Land
Five, the tens or arguably hundreds of millions of dollars in dark money that flowed from corporate sources into GOP coffers.
The Real Reason Democrats Lost|Michael Tomasky|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tile work in the bathrooms, furniture, and artwork on the walls all flowed together and carried his creative touch.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More|Gary Wright|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This notion of American opportunity has ebbed and flowed, but generally gained ground well into the 1960s and 1970s.
In the Future We'll All Be Renters: America's Disappearing Middle Class|Joel Kotkin|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the decades after the Founding, liquor flowed so freely it became cheaper than tea.
Life, Liberty, and the Founding Fathers’ Pursuit of Hoppiness|Kevin Bleyer|July 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The hole in his chest through which the drug flowed required some fussing, but there was no discomfort.
How Big Pharma Holds Back in the War on Cancer|ProPublica|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The very stream that went through it flowed sluggishly along, and as if it hadn't any particular object in life.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
They became quite jolly as cocktails and red liquor flowed and tingled their veins.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
She groaned aloud, and her tears flowed faster: Alessandro was making the baby's coffin.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
In his days the wells of water flowed out, and they were filled as the sea above measure.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Her rosy cheeks were deadly pale now, and wet with the tears that flowed unceasingly from her large black eyes.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie

British Dictionary definitions for flow

flow

/ (fləʊ) /

verb (mainly intr)

(of liquids) to move or be conveyed as in a stream

(of blood) to circulate around the body

to move or progress freely as if in a streamthe crowd flowed into the building

to proceed or be produced continuously and effortlesslyideas flowed from her pen

to show or be marked by smooth or easy movement

to hang freely or looselyher hair flowed down her back

to be present in abundancewine flows at their parties

an informal word for menstruate

(of tide water) to advance or riseCompare ebb (def. 1)

(tr) to cover or swamp with liquid; flood

(of rocks such as slate) to yield to pressure without breaking so that the structure and arrangement of the constituent minerals are altered

noun

the act, rate, or manner of flowinga fast flow

a continuous stream or discharge

continuous progression

the advancing of the tide

a stream of molten or solidified lava

the amount of liquid that flows in a given time

an informal word for menstruation

Scot

a marsh or swamp
an inlet or basin of the sea
(capital when part of a name)Scapa Flow

flow of spirits natural happiness

Word Origin for flow

Old English flōwan; related to Old Norse flōa, Middle Low German vlōien, Greek plein to float, Sanskrit plavate he swims

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with flow

flow

see ebb and flow; go with the flow.

flow

OTHER WORDS FOR flow

Origin of flow

synonym study for flow

OTHER WORDS FROM flow

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH flow

Words related to flow

How to use flow in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for flow

Word Origin for flow

Other Idioms and Phrases with flow