flowing
Americanadjective
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moving in or as in a stream.
flowing water.
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proceeding smoothly or easily; facile.
flowing language.
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long, smooth, graceful, and without sudden interruption or change of direction.
flowing lines; flowing gestures.
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hanging loosely at full length.
flowing hair.
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abounding; having in excess.
a land flowing with milk and honey.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of flowing
before 950; Middle English flowynge, Old English flōwende. See flow, -ing 2
Explanation
Anything flowing moves like liquid, such as the flowing water of a river or someone’s long, flowing hair. Even a conversation can be flowing if people have a lot to say to each other. The adjective flowing is useful for describing things that drape gracefully, like Rapunzel's flowing hair or Cinderella's flowing gown. The sleek and streamlined movements of a ballet dancer might also be called flowing, and so can particularly graceful writing: "The poet's flowing lines beautifully evoked a summer afternoon." Flowing comes from flow, from a root meaning "to stream, melt, or become liquid."
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.
So much money has been flowing into bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, it’s making these usually safe havens increasingly risky.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
"When you're diving, as long as the visibility is good, you can negotiate your way around a jellyfish relatively easily, if you know what way the current is flowing and you pay attention," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Unlike Earth, the Moon has no active plate tectonics, flowing water, or substantial atmosphere to rapidly erase old craters.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
The partnership at its height included billions in US financing flowing to the South Asian nation, which Washington relied on for military supply routes and counterterrorism cooperation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
She wore a flowing dress and had a crown on her head and a big cardboard torch in one hand.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
