flue

¹ American  

[floo] / flu /

noun

1. a passage or duct for smoke in a chimney.

2. any duct or passage for air, gas, or the like.

3. a tube, especially a large one, in a fire-tube boiler.

4. Music.

   1. flue pipe.

   2. Also called windway.  a narrow slit in the upper end of an organ pipe through which the air current is directed.

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flue ² American  

[floo] / flu /

noun

1. downy matter; fluff.

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flue ³ American  

[floo] / flu /

Or flew

noun

1. a fishing net.

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flue ¹ British  

/ fluː /

noun

1. a shaft, tube, or pipe, esp as used in a chimney, to carry off smoke, gas, etc

2. music the passage in an organ pipe or flute within which a vibrating air column is set up See also flue pipe

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flue ² British  

/ fluː /

noun

1. loose fluffy matter; down

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flue ³ British  

/ fluː /

noun

1. a type of fishing net

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flue ⁴ British  

/ fluː /

noun

1. another word for fluke 1 fluke 1

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Other Word Forms

• flued adjective

Etymology

Origin of flue¹

First recorded in 1555–65; earlier flew; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Old English flēwsa “a flowing, flux,” the form flews being taken as plural

Origin of flue²

First recorded in 1580–90; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Old English flug- (in flugol “swift, fleeting”); perhaps from Flemish Dutch vluwe, from French velu “hairy, downy”; velvet ( def. )

Origin of flue³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English flue, flowe, flew, from Middle Dutch vl(o)uwe “fishing net”; akin to Old English flōwan flow ( def. )

Example Sentences

“Nothing so fancy. I was just trying to fix the flue. It was stuck.”

From Literature

He described it as a bioethanol fireplace that does not need a chimney flue, where liquid is poured on to a cotton gauze to create a "candle effect".

From BBC

However, sounds from things like flue organ pipes or flutes, which are propagated through air, would be pitched higher than Earth.

From Salon

Both stoves are connected to a small flue - a pipe within a chimney that allows smoke to escape - that leads up through the chapel roof to the outside.

From BBC

"The formation of a copper-carbamic acid complex within the pores suggests strong and selective interactions with CO2, which is crucial for ensuring that CO2 is preferentially adsorbed over other gases in flue emissions."

From Science Daily

Related Words

• chimney
• duct